Alcaraz Battles Past Ruud to Reach 10th Final of Season
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz fought back from a set down to beat Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Monday in Tokyo, booking his place in the Japan Open final and matching a milestone last achieved by Rafael Nadal. The 21-year-old Spaniard, already the US Open champion, has now reached his 10th final of the season — the first player to do so since Nadal in 2017. “Following his steps in making 10 finals in a season is something great,” Alcaraz said. “Hopefully it’s not going to end here — a few tournaments ahead, hopefully (I’ll) get to the finals there as well.” Despite carrying an ankle injury from earlier in the tournament, Alcaraz dug deep after losing the first set. He blasted nine aces in the second and broke Ruud midway through the third to seal the win with […]