Carlos Alcaraz becomes third man to defend Japan Open title
What's the story
Spanish ace Carlos Alcaraz defended his Japan Open title after beating Jiri Lehecka in the men's singles final. Alcaraz, who won 7-6(4), 6-4, claimed his maiden title since returning from his injury layoff this year. According to ATP, the Spaniard became just the third man to successfully defend the Tokyo title, joining Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras. Here are the key stats.
Match
How the final panned out
Alcaraz earned a hard-fought victory after dropping serve in the opening game.
The first set was dragged to the tie-break, where he was 2-4 down. However, he claimed five successive points to seal the set.
Although Lehecka smashed seven aces, Alcaraz had a win percentage of 85 on his first serve. He converted two of his four break points.
Season
Alcaraz's second title this year
As mentioned earlier, Alcaraz reached his fourth final in 2026.
He started the year by defeating Novak Djokovic in a four-set Australian Open final. He also won the Doha hard-court event in February.
In April, the Spaniard finished as the Monte-Carlo Masters runner-up, losing the final to Jannik Sinner.
Winning his second title of the year, Alcaraz is 35-4 in the season.
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Alcaraz joins these legends
Alcaraz won the 2025 Japan Open after beating Taylor Fritz in a straight-set final. He is now the third man to successfully defend the Tokyo title, joining Edberg (1989-1991) and Sampras (1993-1994).
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Alcaraz 4-1 Lehecka
As per ATP, Alcaraz extended his head-to-head lead over Lehecka to 4-1. The two players clashed thrice last year, with the Spaniard winning at Queen's Club and the US Open. Lehecka earlier beat Alcaraz in Doha.
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Alcaraz defending all the way
Overall, Alcaraz raced to his 27th tour-level title. According to Opta, the Spaniard defended a title for the sixth time in his career: Barcelona (2022-23), Madrid (2022-23), Indian Wells (2023-24), Wimbledon (2023-24), Roland Garros (2024-25), and Tokyo (2025-26).