Rome (AP) -Jannik Sinner went all the way to the final in his first tournament back from a three-month doping ban. And Carlos Alcaraz awaits him in the Italian Open title match. The top ranking sinner moved past Tommy Paul 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 in the semi-finals in the semi-finals on Friday when he tried the first Italian man in 1976. Sunday’s final will be the first meeting between Sinner and Alcaraz since October, when Alcaraz won the China Open final in a third statement-breaker. Alcaraz holds a 6-4 lead in his career meetings with Sinner and won three straight against his biggest competitor. But Sinner has not lost since the defeat against Alcaraz in Beijing and is on a 26 -match winning line. He has been playing his first tournament since winning his third Grand Slam title on the Australian Open in January. “He plays well. I watched his matches, ‘Alcaraz said. “His level is very high now. Every time I play against him, it’s always a fight, always really, really tough. I enjoy (those) moments. ‘ Sinner sustained his level to almost perfection in a route of Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Against Paul, Sinner made the first set of unforced mistakes while shooting American opponent after being shot on the lines. But a sinner turned the game quickly. “Everyone saw the match against Casper,” Alcaraz said. “It’s a big level.” Sinner is the first Italian man in the Rome’s final since Panatta lost the title match in 1978 against Bjorn Borg, and Alcaraz noted that Sinner’s play in front of his home crowd would be ‘even more challenging’. Sinner fans were in full force for all his matches, many of them weared wigs and hats in orange – his theme color. One fan held a sign during the semi -finals translated from Italian to: “Sinner, we missed you.” In February, Sinner agreed to a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency that raised questions, as the three-month suspension enabled him to conveniently not miss Grand Slams and come back to his home tournament. Rome is the last big warm -up before the French Open begins on May 25. This is the third final in three clay court events this season for Alcaraz, who won the Monte Carlo Masters and finished runner-up in the Barcelona Open. He withdrew from the Madrid Open due to an injury. The third-seeded Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid tournament with a right leg problem and also sustained a left leg injury. In Rome he wears a long black brace that covers the upper part of his right leg to just below his knee. Musetti took off the first set of Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo final, but Alcaraz broke the Italian serving in the first match of the Rematch to quiet the Pro Musetti crowd on Campo Central. Musetti did not help himself with unforced errors and Alcaraz only started pushing at the end of the set. Musetti was set a point for misconduct late in the second set after receiving a warning earlier for breaking his rocket. On a windy day in the Foro Italico, Alcaraz said it was not about playing ‘brilliant’, but rather ‘smart tennis’ was needed. “Wait for your chances of playing aggressively, so I think I did well,” Alcaraz said. “I stayed spiritually strong when things didn’t go to my side.” Alcaraz plays the Italian Open for the second time. During his debut in Rome last year, he lost in the third round in the third round against the then 135th -seeded Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan. The women’s final Saturday contains Coco GAFF against Jasmine Paolini. Paolini and partner Sara Errani also advanced to the women’s doubles final when they beat Russian pair of Mirree Andreeva and Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-4 in a re-broadcast of last year’s Olympic final. ___
Sinner to renew rivalry with Alcaraz in the Italian Open final
