Carlos Alcaraz won his first final since returning from a right wrist injury lay-off, defeating Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 at the Japan Open in Tokyo. The Spaniard successfully defended the title he won last year, becoming the first man to do so since Pete Sampras in 1994.
Alcaraz returned from injury in late August and reached the US Open quarter-finals, where he lost to Ben Shelton in a match ending at 3:33am. This victory marks his first tour-level trophy since Doha in February.
"It's extra special to win a title again. It's been a while," said the 23-year-old Alcaraz. "To win a trophy in my second tournament back is amazing. I didn't find my best tennis all week, but I found the right solutions to win. Today I played the best match of the entire tournament." During his comeback, Alcaraz wore a compression sleeve on his right arm and overcame early struggles against Lehecka, who led 3-1 in the first set before Alcaraz rallied to level at 3-3.
British tennis star Liam Broady praised Alcaraz's victory on Sky Sports Tennis, noting the significance of the win after the Spaniard's challenging months dealing with injury concerns and negative thoughts about his recovery.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing