Jan-Lennard Struff is relishing his bid for a first ATP title following his "incredible journey" at the Madrid Open which has seen the German become the first lucky loser to reach the final of a Masters 1000 event.
Struff claimed a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 semi-final victory over Russia's Aslan Karatsev on Friday, days after losing to the same opponent in the final round of qualifying.
Despite his defeat in the qualifier, Struff was added to the main draw after a late withdrawal and has since enjoyed a fine run, ousting world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-final.
Asked if he had expected to be in the final in Madrid, Struff told reporters: "No, of course not.
"(I) was very happy that I got chosen for Lucky Loser, that I had been drawn two out of three. This is just a crazy story, I would say. I couldn't have imagined this ...
"It's an incredible journey and story, here in Madrid, and very, very happy. You should not give up and try again always."
On Sunday, Struff will face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Borna Coric 6-4, 6-3 on his 20th birthday.
The pair have met twice before, with Struff defeating world number two Alcaraz at the French Open in 2021 before the Spaniard got his revenge in a marathon five-setter at Wimbledon the following year.
"We played in Roland Garros when he was 18. For a young player like him, he changed so much in this time. When we see what he achieved in this last two years, it's just amazing," Struff said.
"He's a complete player. He has a lot of weapons. He's serve and volleying, playing strong from the baseline, serving well, he has a dropshot. He's very fast. He's a great athlete ... Really, really happy to be in the finals, and really looking forward to this match."
Struff's run to the final is part of a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the German, who dropped outside the top 100 last year, but is back up to 65th after reaching the quarter-finals of last month's Monte Carlo Masters.
"Last year was a rough year for me. I didn't play well beginning of the year," Struff said.
"Injured my foot, fractured my toe, right big toe, and was about to start practicing again and had some other problems in the foot which kept me from playing on clay where I had a lot of points.
"I felt like I didn't play the best tennis I could, and was struggling a bit definitely, but I didn't stop working. I did a lot of fitness. I did a lot of practice still. I was focused, committed."
