ROME — Jannik Sinner has gone all the way to the final in his first tournament back from a three-month doping ban.
And Carlos Alcaraz is waiting for him in the Italian Open title match.
The top-ranked Sinner rallied past No. 12 Tommy Paul 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 in the semifinals on Friday as he attempts to become the first Italian man to lift the Rome trophy since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Earlier, Alcaraz advanced to his first Rome final by beating Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Sunday’s final will mark the first meeting between Sinner and Alcaraz since October, when Alcaraz won the China Open final in a third-set tiebreaker. Alcaraz holds a 6-4 edge in his career meetings with Sinner and has won three straight against his biggest rival.
But Sinner has not lost since that defeat to Alcaraz in Beijing and is on a 26-match winning streak. He’s playing his first tournament since he won his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.
“He’s playing great. I’ve been watching his matches,” Alcaraz said. “His level is really high right now. Every time that I play against him is always a battle, always really, really tough. I kind of enjoy (those) moments.”
Sinner cranked up his level to near perfection in a rout of Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Against Paul, Sinner made unforced errors in the first set while his American opponent hit shot after shot on the lines. But Sinner quickly turned the match around.
Sinner said cooler, heavier conditions made it more challenging and that getting broken in his first service game was a “punch in my face.”
“But I tried to stay there mentally, trying to understand what might work a little bit better,” Sinner said. “Tennis can change quickly.”
Toward the end of the match, Sinner appeared to be grimacing at times and clutching his thighs.
“Since the third round I have a small blister under my feet which doesn’t allow me that well to move in some moments,” he said. “Leg-wise I’m not concerned, it’s just a bit tight.
“There are no excuses. With the adrenaline there is just going to be a lot of energy on Sunday. I’m 100% not concerned.”
Sinner is the first Italian man in the Rome final since Panatta lost the 1978 title match to Bjorn Borg, and Alcaraz noted that playing Sinner before his home crowd will be “even more challenging.”
Sinner’s fans have been out in full force for all of his matches, many of them wearing wigs and hats in orange – his theme color. One fan held aloft a sign during the semifinal that translated from Italian to, “Sinner, we missed you.”
In February, Sinner agreed to a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency that raised questions, since the three-month suspension conveniently allowed him not to miss any Grand Slams and come back at his home tournament.
Rome is the last big warmup before the French Open starts on May 25.
The third-ranked Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid tournament with an upper right leg issue and also had a left leg injury. In Rome, he has been wearing a long black brace covering the upper portion of his right leg stretching down to just below his knee.
Musetti took the first set off Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo final but Alcaraz broke the Italian’s serve in the first game of the rematch to silence the pro-Musetti crowd on Campo Centrale. Musetti didn’t help himself with unforced errors and began pushing Alcaraz only at the end of the set.
Musetti was docked a point for misbehavior late in the second set after receiving a warning earlier for breaking his racket.
On a windy day at the Foro Italico, Alcaraz said it wasn’t about playing “brilliant,” but rather “smart tennis” was required.
“Waiting for your chances to play aggressive, so I think I did it pretty well,” Alcaraz said. “I stayed strong mentally when things didn’t went to my side.”
Alcaraz is playing the Italian Open for the second time. During his Rome debut last year, he lost to then-135th-ranked Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan in the third round.
Paolini and partner Sara Errani also advanced to the women’s doubles final when they beat Russian pair Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-4 in a rematch of last year’s Olympic final also won by the Italians.
