World number one Carlos Alcaraz will face Taylor Fritz in the Japan Open final after recovering from a slow start to overcome Casper Ruud in Tokyo.

The Spaniard, who dropped the opening set for the first time in the tournament, came back to defeat the Norwegian 3-6 6-3 6-4.

The victory marked Alcaraz’s 66th win of the season and made him the fourth male player in history, after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, to reach nine consecutive ATP-level finals.

Despite the win, Alcaraz admitted frustration over his opening set performance. “I had a lot of chances in the first set,” he said. “I had four break points if I’m not wrong. It’s just about details, so I tried to be more positive than in the first set. I was a little mad with myself, so I tried to play with joy again, putting a lot of positive thoughts in my mind.”

After 15 unforced errors in the first set, Alcaraz dominated his serve in the second, winning 20 of 24 points and taking control of the match. There was little sign that his ankle, which has troubled him since his opener against Sebastian Baez, affected his play.

Second seed Fritz, who beat Alcaraz in last week’s Laver Cup, reached the final by defeating compatriot Jenson Brooksby 6-4 6-3 in the other semi-final.

“I know he’s playing great tennis lately,” Alcaraz said of Fritz. “It’s another challenge for me and I’m looking forward to it.”

Fritz hit 13 aces en route to his first hard-court final of the year. “I served insanely well,” he said. “High percentage first serves and spots too. Any game that I didn’t hit three aces, he was really outplaying me from the baseline. My serve got me through it.”

Source: BBC

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