Carlos Alcaraz reaches Italian Open final and potential showdown with Jannik Sinner

ROME – Carlos Alcaraz set up a potential blockbuster Italian Open final with Jannik Sinner after coming through his semi-final 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) against home hope Lorenzo Musetti on May 16.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz fought past Musetti in just over two hours to reach his fourth final of the season ahead of the French Open which gets under way later in May.

The Italian was beaten by Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo final in April and fell to his fifth straight defeat by the Spaniard after a frustrating display in front of a partisan crowd on centre court.

The 23-year-old gave up three breaks of serve and made 29 unforced errors in the first set, and he was warned by umpire Renaud Lichtenstein after slamming his racket into the clay as he gave up his serve to go a set behind.

Musetti fought back to go to 4-3 in the second set, even drawing applause from his opponent for one spectacular backhanded volley he plucked out of the sky.

However, Alcaraz broke back in Game 8 to level the set, sparking a furious reaction from Musetti who was punished with a point for the following game for smashing the ball into the stands. Alcaraz served that game to love as Musetti continued to fume, and he ended the crowd’s hopes of an all-Italian final by coming through the decisive tie-break.

Alcaraz now awaits the result of Sinner’s last-four clash with Tommy Paul – the match started after press time – to see if he will get the showdown tennis fans around the world want to see.

World No. 1 Sinner is red-hot favourite to beat the American after dumping out Madrid Open champion Casper Ruud on May 15 with an astonishing display of tennis. Sinner took little more than an hour to sweep aside the world No. 7 on centre court at the Foro Italico, winning 6-0, 6-1.

“It’s near as perfect that I witnessed, at least as a player, playing someone, so just got to give it to him,” Ruud said.

“Everything else that came out of his racket... feels like a hundred miles an hour plus, every single shot, on the forearm, from the backhand, and even on my shots that I feel at times are pretty heavy it comes back like just firing. He was just everywhere... it’s just like playing a wall that you know shoots hundred-miles-an-hour balls at you all the time.”

The Norwegian drew the loudest cheer of the night when he held his serve to win his only game, and he said that even he enjoyed watching Sinner’s dominant display.

“You just look at the guy and say ‘wow this is kind of next-level s**t’ – excuse my language. I don’t know what else to say, it was almost fun to witness. I was there ready to play, but he was just even readier,” added Ruud.

In the women’s draw, Jasmine Paolini became the first woman in more than a decade to reach the final of her home Italian Open when she beat American Peyton Stearns 7-5, 6-1. She is the first Italian to advance to the final in Rome since her doubles partner Sara Errani lost to Serena Williams in 2014.

Paolini will on May 17 face American Coco Gauff, who battled past China’s Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) in a marathon semi-final lasting over three-and-a-half hours. AFP, REUTERS