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Carlos Alcaraz was able to overcome a slow start to battle his way to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Casper Ruud to reach the Japan Open final on Monday.
After three straight-set wins, and an early tournament injury scare, the world No 1 faced the toughest test of his run to date against fourth seed Ruud, though
Alcaraz will face second seed and world No. 5 Taylor Fritz in an intriguing final, in what is now the ninth straight tournament that the Spaniard has progressed to the championship match.
Since losing his opening match at the Miami Open, Alcaraz has reached consecutive finals in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Roland Garros, Queen's, Wimbledon, Cincinnati, the US Open, and now in Tokyo.
It is staggering streak for Alcaraz, but where does it rank in ATP history?
Thanks to reaching his ninth consecutive final, Alcaraz has now drawn level with three fellow tennis legends and former world No. 1's in the all-time standings: Rafael Nadal, Ilie Nastase and Jimmy Connors.
Nadal achieved this in 2013, reaching the final of the first nine finals tournaments he played that season â- from the Chile Open to Roland Garros â- before his run was snapped by a round-one defeat at Wimbledon.
Connors' streak started at the end of 1973 and the beginning of 1974, reaching and winning the Australian Open final, before progressing to the final at eight further events before a semi-final loss in Washington.
The season before Connors, Nastase reached nine straight finals from Washington to Queens, winning the French Open during that spell; his streak came to an end with a round of 16 loss at Wimbledon.
In the Open Era, only six men have bettered Alcaraz's milestone by reaching 10+ consecutive finals on tour, and all of them are legends of the sport.
Ranking in sixth place is John McEnroe, who reached 11 straight finals across the peak of his powers in the 1983 and 1984 seasons.
In joint-fourth are tennis legends Bjorn Borg and Guillermo Vilas, who reached 13 straight finals in 1979-80 and 1977, respectively.
Then, in joint-second place, are Novak Djokovic (2015-16) and Roger Federer (2005-06), who both reached a staggering 17 consecutive finals at the very peak of their dominance.
However, both of them fell just shy of the Open Era record of Ivan Lendl, who reached 18 straight finals on the ATP Tour across 1981-1982.
Alcaraz's run of nine straight finals is extraordinary, but he would have to double that to match the feat of eight-time Grand Slam champion Lendl.
