Tokyo: Carlos Alcaraz produced a remarkable recovery after losing 16 consecutive points to defeat fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar and reach the Japan Open final.
The world No. 3 rallied from a set down to beat qualifier Munar 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 in Monday's semi-final, securing his first final appearance since returning from a four-and-a-half-month lay-off caused by a right wrist injury.
Alcaraz appeared to be in control after earning a break midway through the opening set, but his game suddenly unravelled. Consecutive double faults helped hand the set to Munar, and after losing the first two points of the second set, the Spaniard had dropped 16 points in a row.
The momentum shifted quickly, however, as Alcaraz broke serve in the opening game of the second set and never looked back.
“I don't know what happened in the first set,” Alcaraz said. “It seems that I'm struggling in every first set. But I've come back every time and I'm really happy about it.”
The top seed returned to competition in late August after his injury absence and reached the US Open quarter-finals, where he lost to Ben Shelton. Since his comeback, Alcaraz has continued to wear a compression sleeve on his right arm.
Tuesday's final will be his first since April, when he lost to Jannik Sinner in the Monte Carlo Masters final.
Reflecting on the match, Alcaraz praised Munar, who knocked out world No. 12 Taylor Fritz in the opening round.
“Jaume is a pretty tough player to play against and these conditions suit him well,” Alcaraz said. “I'm just happy that in the second set I tried to stay there. I made a couple of breaks that helped a lot to get a bit of confidence. Then I started to play more aggressively.”
Alcaraz will face either Valentin Vacherot or Jiri Lehecka in Tuesday's final as he seeks to defend the Japan Open title he won last year.