The final round of Tokyo qualifying is shaping up to be a genuinely compelling day of tennis, with several well known names on the tour all scrapping for a place in the main draw of this ATP 500 event. These are not journeymen filling out a schedule. These are players with real pedigree who need results today to keep their weeks alive in Japan.
These two have not met before, so there is no head to head history to lean on here. What we do know is that Faria plays an aggressive, attacking brand of tennis and his first serve is a genuine weapon that can unlock free points quickly. Vallejo, the Paraguayan, is more of a grinder and will look to construct points from the baseline, absorbing pace and waiting for errors.
On the quick hard courts in Tokyo, the serving advantage Faria carries is going to matter a lot. If Vallejo cannot get a read on that first delivery, he will spend far too much of the match on the back foot. Faria can be inconsistent from the baseline, which gives Vallejo a route back into sets, but the Portuguese player’s firepower feels like the decisive factor in these conditions.
These two have met once before, with Kovacevic taking that encounter, so the American comes in with a psychological edge at least on paper. Munar had a career best season in 2025 but has struggled to carry that form into this year after picking up some physical problems along the way. Getting back onto the court and finding a run in Tokyo would do him a world of good.
Kovacevic is the aggressor in this match up, looking to take the ball early and push Munar onto the defensive. The Spaniard, in contrast, is a classic counterpuncher who will try to redirect pace and work the point rather than blast through it. This type of match tends to come down to baseline consistency over extended rallies, and right now Munar edges that battle. He reads the game well and does not make unnecessary errors under pressure.
Not long ago Tsitsipas was a top five player and a genuine Grand Slam contender. He now finds himself needing to qualify for ATP 500 events, which tells you everything about how his ranking has slipped. His weaknesses have been ruthlessly exposed by the modern generation, and even some of his strengths have faded. That said, the forehand and the serve remain dangerous when he is on his game, and he leads Hijikata two matches to nil in their previous meetings.
Hijikata is an entertaining player with good all court instincts and creativity, but he has not yet shown he can consistently beat players of Tsitsipas’s calibre when the Greek is firing. On a fast indoor hard court surface, the weapons Tsitsipas still possesses should be enough to see him through. This feels like a match where Tsitsipas takes control early and does not let go.
This is perhaps the most eye catching qualifier of the day. Fils is ranked near the top ten in the world and is a former champion at this very tournament, having lifted the Tokyo title in 2024. The fact he is in qualifying at all comes down to missing the main draw registration deadline, which is a frustrating administrative situation for a player of his standing. Fils leads their head to head one win to nil, though Majchrzak pushed him very close in their most recent encounter earlier this year.
Majchrzak is no pushover at this level. He is a solid counterpunching baseliner who can make life difficult for power players if they are not dictating the rally. Fils will need to be the aggressor and take the ball on early, because if this turns into a neutral hitting exchange, Majchrzak has the tools to make it competitive. Coming off a disappointing run at the US Open, Fils will be hungry to make a statement and a return to Tokyo feels like exactly the kind of motivation he needs.
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