[Singles Final]
Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) def. Jiri Lehecka (Czech Republic), 7-6(4), 6-4
■ After securing his place in the final, Alcaraz acknowledged that he had yet to reach the level he is capable of producing when he is in top form. “I want to find my way back to a good level. It hasn’t been an easy journey, but I feel like I’m really close now,” he said. Having battled his way to the title, this tournament was truly a journey of feeling his way forward, one step at a time.
■ At times, Alcaraz produced breathtakingly clean winners; at others, he committed seemingly inexplicable errors. From the first round through the third round, he was taken to a tiebreak in the opening set each time. In the first set of his semifinal against Jaume Munar (Spain), he suffered a major collapse after leading 5-3 and eventually lost the set 5-7. He must have been frustrated with his performance, but Alcaraz kept a poker face and remained positive, saying, “I’m gradually getting back to where I want to be.”
■ The first set of the finalsals went to a tiebreak. Alcaraz found himself trailing 2-4 at the start, but then won five straight points to take the set. In the second set, he broke serve at 3-3. When Lehecka charged the net, Alcaraz unleashed a fearless passing shot to win the point. He closed out the match without much trouble in the final stages, taking the trophy after winning two sets in a row. “I think I played my best match of the week. I was the most consistent today,” Alcaraz said, looking satisfied with his performance.
■ Still, he appears to feel that he is only halfway along the road back to his best. “I think I’m at the stage where I just try to give my best in every match and every tournament and see what comes out of it,” he said, taking a measured view of his current form. He continued: “I’m still quite far from my best level. But I’ve been able to find solutions for how to get myself into a good state from where I am now.”
■ From the opening round through the final, Alcaraz did not necessarily build his points through his trademark combination of powerful groundstrokes and counterpunching from defense. There were many moments when he was pushed around by opponents who played with nothing to lose. Even so, he used the full range of his game—including drop shots, net play and changes in trajectory—to grind out games one by one. He was desperately searching for “solutions.” He did not dominate any of his matches, but because he was able to “bring out the best I have right now,” Alcaraz said he was “proud of myself” and described it as “a great week.”
(Japan Tennis Association)
