Alcaraz survives 16-point slump to beat Munar and reach Tokyo final

Sixteen points in a row, then a comeback

Carlos Alcaraz is back in the final of the Japan Open, but he went through a strange first-set collapse to get there. On Monday the top seed beat fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 in two hours and 31 minutes at the Ariake Coliseum, coming back after losing 16 straight points at the end of the opening set.

Alcaraz had started well. He broke early, led 5-3 and was serving for the set. Then it all fell apart. Munar won 16 consecutive points to take the next four games and the set, as Alcaraz's forehand started to misfire.

"I don't know what happened in the first set. I started the match well. I was up a break and serving for the set," Alcaraz said afterwards, according to the ATP. He also pointed to the way he keeps coming back from slow starts as something he is happy with.

Back to his best when it mattered

Midway through the second set Alcaraz found his range, the crowd came back to life and the momentum swung. He levelled the match at 6-3 and then ran away with the decider, dropping just one game against a Munar who had been one of the stories of the week.

The Mallorcan reached the last four after a run that included a win over Taylor Fritz earlier in the week, and after taking the first set on Monday he was within two sets of a place in the final.

The win keeps Alcaraz unbeaten at the tournament. He won the title on his debut last year and has now won nine matches in a row in Tokyo. Tuesday's final will be his fourth of the season and his first since the Monte-Carlo Masters in April. The world No. 3 missed several months with a wrist injury before returning in time to reach the US Open quarter-finals and then play the Laver Cup.

Moustached Alcaraz cruises past Cerundolo in Shanghai opener

Lehečka next after crushing Vacherot

Standing between Alcaraz and the title is Jiří Lehečka. The Czech needed just 68 minutes to beat eighth seed Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2 in the other semi-final, a much more one-sided match than many expected after Vacherot had knocked out Arthur Fils in the quarter-finals.

Lehečka trails Alcaraz 1-3 in their ATP head-to-head, but his one win came at a big moment: he beat the Spaniard in Doha in 2025. Alcaraz, meanwhile, has had to dig deep all week, saving set points against Matteo Arnaldi, surviving a test from Alex Michelsen and now recovering from that collapse against Munar.

Alcaraz will be favourite on Tuesday as he goes for a second straight title in the Japanese capital. The Shanghai Masters starts the following day, so whoever wins will have little time to celebrate.