Frustrated Alcaraz survives Ruud scare to reach final

World number one Carlos Alcaraz will face Taylor Fritz in the Japan Open final after coming from behind to beat Casper Ruud in Tokyo. The Spaniard dropped the opening set – the first he has dropped in the tournament – but recovered to beat the Norwegian 3-6 6-3 6-4. It was Alcaraz’s 66th win of […]

World number one Carlos Alcaraz will face Taylor Fritz in the Japan Open final after coming from behind to beat Casper Ruud in Tokyo.
The Spaniard dropped the opening set – the first he has dropped in the tournament – but recovered to beat the Norwegian 3-6 6-3 6-4.
It was Alcaraz’s 66th win of the season and he is the fourth male player in history after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to reach nine successive ATP-level finals.
Despite his victory, the six-time Grand Slam winner was angry about his performance in the opening set.
After committing 15 unforced errors in the first set, Alcaraz won 20 of 24 points on his serve in the second as he took charge of the match.