CARLOS Alcaraz has won his first final since coming back from a long injury lay-off for a right wrist injury with success at the Japan Open.
Alcaraz, who hadn’t played a showpiece since getting beaten by Jannik Sinner at the Monte-Carlo Masters in April, successfully defended the title he won last year in Tokyo, defeating Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
The Spaniard returned from injury in late August and made a run to the US Open quarter-finals, where he lost to Ben Shelton in a match that ended at 3:33am.
Alcaraz was kept on his toes by Czech star Lehecka, but he did enough to earn his first tour-level trophy since Doha in February.
Lehecka, ranked 19th, was sharper at the start and led 3-1, but Alcaraz, who has been wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm since his return, hit back to level at 3-3 and showed his full repertoire of crowd-pleasing shots in the tie-break, winning five points in a row from 2-4.
He made his move in the seventh game of the second set with a break to lead 4-3 and looked delighted after clinching victory. —Sky Sports
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