Jannik Sinner recovered after losing the first set against Tommy Paul to secure his spot in the Italian Open final, where he will face Carlos Alcaraz.
Making his return this week for the first time since the Australian Open, Sinner quickly rediscovered his impressive form. Despite struggling in the opening set, the world number one fought back hard, ultimately winning 1-6, 6-0, 6-3. This victory extended his remarkable winning streak to 26 matches.
This will be Sinner`s first encounter with Alcaraz this season. Their previous meeting was the China Open final last October, which Alcaraz won after also coming from a set down. Alcaraz defeated Sinner in all three of their matches last season, accounting for half of Sinner`s total losses that year.
In contrast to his dominant 6-0, 6-1 win over Casper Ruud in the previous round, Sinner began his semi-final slowly, allowing America`s Paul to take control. It marked the first set Sinner had lost throughout the tournament. However, the 23-year-old Italian responded emphatically in the second set, delivering a crushing 6-0 performance to level the match.
Backed by the enthusiastic home crowd, Sinner quickly established a 3-0 lead in the deciding set before Paul managed to win two games consecutively, narrowing the gap to 3-2. Despite this, Sinner maintained his intensity and closed out the match in one hour and 44 minutes.
Speaking after the match, Sinner commented:
I just tried to stay there mentally.
He added:
Today the conditions were completely different. It`s colder, the ball is heavier; I struggled a bit with that, and he broke me straight away, which felt like a punch in my face. But I tried to stay mentally present. Winning that one game for me was important. Tennis can change quickly. Today showed me that every moment is crucial, and I`m very happy about that and to be in the final. If I want to win on Sunday, I know I have to play my best tennis. It feels incredible to be here in the final.
Tale of the Tape
Alcaraz Overcomes Musetti
World No 3 Alcaraz advanced to the final by defeating Italy`s Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6, overcoming both his opponent and a supportive home crowd. However, the Italian regrouped at the start of the second set, boosted by the enthusiastic support from the Campo Centrale crowd, as Alcaraz appeared to struggle slightly with the windy conditions.
Musetti, who Alcaraz had beaten in three sets in last month`s Monte Carlo Masters final, quickly secured two breaks to take a 3-1 lead. Nevertheless, Alcaraz showed resilience, breaking back to level the set at 4-4 and then holding serve, forcing Musetti to serve to remain in the match. The Italian, who had impressively defeated Daniil Medvedev and defending champion Alexander Zverev earlier in the tournament, held his nerve to force a tie-break. In the tie-break, Alcaraz`s superior range and power proved decisive. He clinched the win on his second match point with another superb cross-court forehand.
Reflecting on his match, Alcaraz stated:
It was a tough match today. He came through qualifying playing good tennis, so I knew it would be tough.
He continued:
I was trying to get my energy up a little bit from the start. I was a bit flat today, but I thought I did a really good job of competing hard throughout the match, and he definitely came out strong in the second set. I am human; it`s tough being mentally and physically engaged for the last three weeks. It`s not easy, especially when you go deep in tournaments. It`s really tough to stay mentally present every point, and I did get a bit frustrated, but I managed to get through, and I`m proud of that. I need to make sure my standards don`t drop, keep my body injury-free, and just try and do the right things.
