TOKYO: Carlos Alcaraz said he "didn't want to take anything for granted" after winning his first title since returning from a four-month injury layoff in Tuesday's Japan Open final.
In Beijing, tennis great Novak Djokovic credited his "never-die spirit" for carrying him to the 102nd title of his career as he won the China Open on Tuesday when his opponent Alex de Minaur retired injured from the final.
In the Tokyo final, the top seed and defending champion beat world number 19 Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 to lift his first trophy since the Qatar Open in February.
It was his second singles tournament since coming back from a wrist injury, following a run to the US Open quarterfinals.
Alcaraz also played at the Laver Cup team event in London last week.
The world number three said he "wanted to earn everything" but did not know how quickly he would refind his form.
"I don't want to take anything for granted," he said.
"I didn't know if I was going to win a tournament this soon or if I was going to win a tournament this season.
"I just want to arrive at a tournament, give my best, try to play my best and let's see how the tournament goes."
Alcaraz's win gave him his third title of the year including the Australian Open, and the 27th of his career.
It came hours after world number one Jannik Sinner announced that he had brought a premature end to his season due to an ongoing knee injury.
"I think at this tournament I was way far from my best level, but in terms of finding solutions and playing the best level that I could in the most important moments, I think it was a great week," said Alcaraz.
"I'm really happy about lifting the trophy in the second official tournament since the injury.
"Hopefully it's not going to be the last one this season," he added.
Alcaraz is scheduled to play in the Shanghai Masters starting Wednesday.
He pulled out of last year's tournament at the last minute after winning in Tokyo, blaming "physical issues" and taking aim at tennis's packed schedule.
Alcaraz went into the Tokyo final with a 3-1 career head-to-head record against Lehecka, who was looking to win his first title of the year.
Alcaraz had his service broken immediately by a confident-looking Lehecka, who gave his top-seeded opponent no time to settle.
The Spaniard broke back in a long tussle midway through the first set and followed that up with a brutal display of power tennis in the next game.
Lehecka proved a tough nut to crack though, and Alcaraz needed to pull out a pair of spectacular drop shots to clinch the first set in a tie-breaker.
Lehecka continued to give Alcaraz problems, but the defending champion went a break up midway through the second set and made no mistakes to close out the victory.
PERFECT RECORD
In Beijing, the 39-year-old Serbian extended a perfect record to 34 wins in as many matches for his seventh title in Beijing — his first since 2015.
Djokovic said afterwards that in more than two decades as a professional player, "the grit and the dedication and the kind of never-die spirit that really is always with me" have carried him through.
Tennis is "quite a cruel sport" with players competing in knock-out tournaments year-round, Djokovic told reporters, adding that the stakes and pressure of performing in front of fans made the sport "so demanding and so special".
"You can feel so much weight on your shoulders, but it is what I have been destined to do," he said.
In front of a jam-packed stadium, Djokovic won the first set in the tie-break 7-6 (7/3) and was down a game in the second set when the Australian ended the match early.
"I always want to visualise myself with the trophy, particularly here in Beijing," Djokovic said during the trophy ceremony.
"But I was also quite aware that reality is a little bit different these days," he said, adding that it had been a challenging year with "physical and health issues".
"I was just trying to find the good feeling on the court," he said.
The first set was a physical battle that lasted more than one hour, and both men needed medical timeouts before the second.
De Minaur, the world number nine, won the first game of the second set before retiring due to a left adductor strain.
The 27-year-old had walked back onto the court after his medical timeout with a white wrap around his left thigh.
"I don't feel great," De Minaur told the crowd afterwards.
"I want to say sorry to the amazing fans that came to watch... I didn't want to finish like this."
De Minaur advanced to the final after his opponent Hubert Hurkacz retired injured from their semi-final on Monday, while Djokovic moved through when Daniil Medvedev was disqualified for hitting a fan with a ball.
But Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, put on a valiant show to lift the trophy, ousting top seed Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinal after defeating home hope Bu Yunchaokete in a demanding three-set match.
It means Djokovic will end the season with at least one title for the 21st consecutive year, and as the oldest man to win a singles final after Ken Rosewall in Hong Kong in 1977 at age 43. — AFP
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