World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday won his eighth title of a sensational season after beating the US’ Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in the Japan Open final.
The Spaniard has struggled with an ankle injury this week in Tokyo, but he was still too hot for the rest of the competition to handle, including world No. 5 Fritz.
The US Open champion gave another breathtaking display of power and athleticism to lift the trophy in his first appearance in Japan.
Photo: AP
He clinched victory with a cleverly disguised drop shot before strolling to the net to give Fritz a warm embrace.
“First time in Tokyo, first title here, hopefully not the last one,” the 22-year-old said.
Alcaraz injured his ankle in his opening match in Tokyo as he ran for a shot, crumpling to the ground and sitting on the court for about five minutes.
Photo: AP
He returned to play with heavy strapping on his ankle and admitted that the injury had been on his mind throughout the tournament.
“The start of the week was not really good with the ankle, and the way that I came back from that, playing a great tournament and great matches, I’m just really happy about it,” he said.
It was the Spaniard’s ninth straight final and his 10th of the season overall.
No man since his legendary countryman Rafael Nadal in 2017 had reached 10 finals in a season.
The win gave Alcaraz a measure of revenge after losing to Fritz for the first time at the Laver Cup in San Francisco two weeks ago.
Alcaraz was not happy with the umpire in the final, telling him “you’ve never played tennis in your life” during a rant between games.
He squandered several chances to break Fritz in the first set, but he made the breakthrough in the ninth game.
That left the Spaniard serving for the set, and he sealed the deal when Fritz dumped a return into the net.
Alcaraz kept his foot on the gas and broke his opponent to start the second set.
He broke Fritz again to take a 4-1 lead and continued to punish him with a series of brutal forehands.
Fritz hit back for his first break of the match, but it was too little, too late as Alcaraz clinched the championship on his next service game.
“It’s been a pleasure to be able to play here in Tokyo in front of the Japanese fans,” Alcaraz said. “I enjoyed every single second from when I stepped on the court, less the five minutes that I was on the floor with my ankle.”
“The rest of the tournament, I enjoyed every single second,” he added.
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