Thanks to the difficult success over Jaume Munar, Carlos Alcaraz will be able to defend the title of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo won last year. The Spanish derby was not a walk in the park for the world number 3, who appeared less incisive than usual and ran into a sharp drop in performance which cost him the first set. He then had to get back on top, finally managing to win 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. In the final he will face Jiri Lehecka (n. 19), who beat Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2.
Beijing, Medvedev disqualified: Djokovic-De Minaur final
Change of latitude to get to the final act of the China Open, another ATP 500. In Beijing Alex De Minaur (n. 9) will try to win his second trophy of 2026. The Australian benefited from the withdrawal of Hubert Hurkacz (n. 39) halfway through the second set. De Minaur will face Novak Djokovic (no. 11), after the semifinal with Daniil Medvedev (no. 5) ended in a daring manner with the latter’s disqualification.
Having lost the first set 7-5, at 5-3, 15-15 in the second the Muscovite had one of his outbursts of anger and threw the ball towards the audience behind him, hitting a spectator in the face who shortly after left the stands holding his left eye. Then came the disqualification, which sanctioned Djokovic’s access to his first final after the Australian Open last January.
«It was a bit of a shock, I’m honest – the Serb’s words -. I’m sorry for the person who was hit, I didn’t really see what happened and I hope they weren’t hurt. I also feel sorry for Daniil because I know exactly how it feels to be disqualified in a big match: it happened to me at the 2020 US Open in similar circumstances. I’m sure Daniil didn’t do it on purpose, but that’s how it happened. However, there is something here in Beijing that pushes me to move forward.”
In the other semi-final, down 4-0 in just a few minutes, Hurkacz had the merit of staying in the match, even managing to recover a break deficit. But, after losing the first set 6-4, the Pole raised the white flag at 3-2 for De Minaur in the second set, while he was trailing by a break.
Tokyo, Alcaraz on the comeback: now the challenge with Lehecka
«I don’t know what happened in the first set – admitted Alcaraz at the end of his match -. I have the feeling of suffering in every first set” here in Tokyo, he continued. The former number 1, in fact, was forced to tie-break at the start of all three of his previous matches in the Japanese capital. “But I’m very happy with how I manage to get back into the game every time,” he added.
The precedents with Lehecka are 3-1 in favor of the Murcian. The Czech was impeccable in the innings, with just four runs lost in the match against Vacherot.
Shanghai, the draw of the five Italians
The Shanghai Masters 1000 draw has been drawn with five Italians registered. In the first quarter, that of Alexander Zverev, Flavio Cobolli, seeded number 6, and Matteo Berrettini are present. Cobolli enters the race directly in the second round against the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino or a qualifier. Berrettini (n. 47) makes his debut against the American Aleksandar Kovacevic (n. 81).
Lorenzo Musetti (n. 25) is the only Italian in the second quarter, which sees Ben Shelton (n. 3) and Frances Tiafoe (n. 7) as the highest seeds: the draw projects him towards a third round against Djokovic.
Luciano Darderi (n. 19) and Matteo Arnaldi (n. 37) are in the last quarter, with Alcaraz, seeded number 2, and Medvedev, number 5. Darderi enters the match in the second round and could immediately cross paths with Stefanos Tsitsipas. Arnaldi makes his debut against a qualified player: in case of success, the Sanremo player will be Fritz’s first opponent.