Carlos Alcaraz Sends a Clear Message to Jannik Sinner from Japan
For the first time in six months—thanks to a long injury layoff—Carlos Alcaraz is back in the final of an ATP tournament: The Murcia native, in fact, defeated Majorcan Jaume Munar in three sets—coming back from a one-set deficit—in a true battle on the hard courts of the Ariake Coliseum. Alcaraz is thus sending a clear message to Jannik Sinner and his other main rivals on the tour: heading into the season finale, he has no intention of dropping any more points, and instead aims to gain ground on the Italian—the current world No. 1.
Alcaraz defeated Munar 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 in two hours and thirty-three minutes, with the first two sets alone taking two hours of play. Munar deserves credit for giving his compatriot more than a few headaches, managing to come back from a break down in the first set and trading blows, at least until 4-3, in an equally intense second set. The third set unfolded quite differently: Alcaraz asserted his ranking advantage (No. 3 vs. No. 49), allowing his opponent just one game at 5-0.
In the final, Carlos Alcaraz will face Jiri Lehecka, who defeated Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2 in the other semifinal: the Murcia native is aiming for his 27th title on the major tour, his third of 2026 following the Australian Open and the ATP 500 in Doha, while the Czech player is dreaming of his first ATP 500 title after his victories at the ATP 250 tournaments in Adelaide in 2024 and Brisbane in 2025.
As for the rankings, however, no significant changes are expected: Alcaraz, already assured of remaining in third place in the next update, must win the Tokyo tournament to avoid losing points, but he has already gained ground on Alexander Zverev, who was defeated in the quarterfinals of the Beijing tournament by Novak Djokovic. In the live rankings, Jannik Sinner remains in first place with 11,000 points, Zverev follows with 9,720, and Alcaraz currently stands at 5,390; however, everything could still change between now and the final event where points are up for grabs, the ATP Finals.
