Carlos Alcaraz became the first player to reach 10 finals in a single year since his compatriot Rafael Nadal did so in 2017.

The Spanish world No. 1 came from behind to defeat Norwegian Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, joining American Taylor Fritz, who beat fellow American Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-3 on Monday, in the final of the Tokyo Tennis Tournament (500 points).

Alcaraz, who won the Roland Garros and US Open titles this year, found himself trailing in the first set against Ruud, ranked 12th in the world.

However, Alcaraz, who suffered an ankle injury in the Japanese capital, regained his composure in the second set with 9 aces, leveling the match.

In the third set, the Spaniard broke his opponent’s serve once and maintained his lead to close out the match in two hours and eight minutes.

Alcaraz is the first player to reach 10 finals in a single year since Rafael Nadal in 2017.

Meanwhile, Fritz has won two tournaments this year, in Eastbourne, England, and Stuttgart, Germany, both on grass courts, and reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, the last Grand Slam, this month.

This is the nineteenth final Fritz has reached in his career and the third this year; he was the Tokyo champion in 2022.

After the match, Fritz said, “I played a very good match today, I think I served in the best possible way,” having delivered 13 clean serves.

Alcaraz and Fritz have met four times before, with the Spaniard winning three times, but their last encounter was at the Laver Cup on September 20, where Fritz easily won 6-3, 6-2 in 71 minutes.