Alcaraz survives Munar challenge, reaches second straight Tokyo final

Tokyo: World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz overcame a challenge from fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar to win 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 in the Japan Open semifinal at the Ariake Coliseum here on Monday, reaching the final in Tokyo for the second consecutive year.

Alcaraz squandered a 5-3 lead in the opening set and was eventually broken while serving for the set. He responded strongly in the second, breaking Munar three times to level the match before dominating the decider 6-1.

“I don’t know what happened in the first set… The first sets in general, to be honest. I don’t know. I started the match well, breaking, serving for the set. Don’t know what happened. It seems like I’m struggling every first set. But the way I come back every time, I’m just really happy about it,” Alcaraz told tournament broadcasters after the win.

Alcaraz has had to dig deep in the opening sets throughout the tournament. He needed tiebreaks against Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals, Matteo Arnaldi in the round of 16 and Alex Michelsen in the round of 32.

Against Munar, Alcaraz broke early and moved 5-3 ahead before serving for the set. However, Munar broke back, won the next two games and took the opening set 7-5.

Alcaraz responded in the second set by breaking for a 2-1 lead and holding for 3-1. He broke again for 4-2 before securing the set 6-3 with another break.

The Spaniard was back to his best in the decider, breaking Munar twice to race to a 4-0 lead. Although Munar held serve to get on the scoreboard, Alcaraz closed out the match with another hold to win 6-1.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion will face either Jiri Lehecka or Valentin Vacherot in the final. The two were scheduled to play their semifinal later on Monday.

Alcaraz chose to compete at the Japan Open while several other stars are featuring at the China Open. He is the defending champion in Tokyo, having defeated Taylor Fritz in last year’s final.