The scene is set on an exciting climax at 2025 Internazionali Bnl d’Italia, which World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz operated through his semi-final matches on Friday to secure a blockbuster final on Sunday.
Sinners fought back from a set to overcome Tommy Paul, while Alcaraz showed off his mental steel to switch home favorite Lorenzo Musetti.
It is no secret that these guys are by far the best two players in the world, so it is the final that most fans will have wanted, and hopefully Sinner’s leg injury is not the deciding factor that comes on Sunday.
Complete summary, statistics and highlights below.
Day Ten Italian Open 2025 Semifinal Results
| Winner | Loser | Results line |
|---|---|---|
| Jannik Sinner (1) | Tommy Paul (11) | 1-6 6-0 6-3 |
| Carlos Alcaraz (3) | Lorenzo Musetti (8) | 6-3 7-6 (4) |
Alabaraz Mutes Mosetti
Carlos Alcaraz drove into the Rome final with a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Lorenzo Musetti in Interazionali Bnl d’Italia semi-finals on Friday.
In an re-match from their collision in the Monte Carlo final, Alcaraz came out and shot and exploited his explosive forehand to grow into a 4-1 lead.
His aggressive baseline game and sharp court coverage set the tone early, with his forehand that proved particularly fatal and moved up 14 winners to Musetti’s only three over the match.
Despite the windy conditions that complicated gunshots, Alcaraz’s ability to dictate points was clear.
Musetti, bent by the passionate Campo Central audience, fought back, found some rhythm with its elegant one-handed backhand and won two in a row to close the gap to 4-3.
However, Alcaraz remained unclear. The Spanjolen sharpened its game and mixed solid defense with rapid aggression to seal the first set 6-3.
The second set saw Musetti raise its game and fed by the audience’s energy to take 4-2 lead. The Italian, especially on his backhand, put Alcaraz on the back foot, with the third seed that lost its first two service games in the set.
However, Alcaraz’s mental resilience has been good this week, and he split himself back to 4-4.
The set remained closely questioned, with Alcaraz who earned a match point of 6-5 on Musetti’s servant, just to see the Italian holding company.
As the set continued to a tie-break, Alcaraz remained composed under pressure. While Musetti fought bravely, crawled wrong into his game, and Alcaraz took advantage of and secured Tie-Break 7-4 to pass the match after two hours and four minutes.
Today was a really difficult day with conditions, the wind was difficult to play with. It was not about playing brilliant, spectacular tennis. It was about playing smart tennis, playing solid, going to that point when you can and waiting for the chance to play aggressively. I think I did pretty well, I stayed strongly mentally when things didn’t go to my side. Alcaraz about the terms.
Match statistics
| Carlos Alcaraz | Lorenzo Musetti | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 19 | 9 |
| Unwavering errors | 42 | 44 |
| Ace | 1 | 0 |
| Double error | 5 | 1 |
| 1st Earn % | 66% (47/71) | 72% (67/93) |
| 1st serving points won | 66% (31/47) | 61% (41/67) |
| 2nd serving points won | 46% (11/24) | 27% (7/26) |
| Break Points saved | 63% (5/8) | 64% (9/14) |
| Service Games | 70% (7/10) | 55% (6/11) |
| 1st return score won | 39% (26/67) | 34% (16/47) |
| 2nd return points won | 73% (19/26) | 54% (13/24) |
| Break Points won | 36% (5/14) | 38% (3/8) |
| Return games | 45% (5/11) | 30% (3/10) |
| Pressure points | 45% (10/22) | 55% (12/22) |
| Service points | 59% (42/71) | 52% (48/93) |
| Return points | 48% (45/93) | 41% (29/71) |
| Net points | 67% (6/9) | 83% (5/6) |
| Total score | 53% (87/164) | 47% (77/164) |
| Match points saved | 0 | 1 |
| Max points in line | 8 | 8 |
| Total games | 57% (12/21) | 43% (9/21) |
| Max -game in line | 3 | 2 |
Highlights
Sinner looks by Paul
Jannik Sinner delivered a comeback on Friday and overcame a shaky start to defeat Tommy Paul 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 and secure his place in the Rome final against Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner entered the meeting after a 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Casper Ruud in the quarter finals, but this time he was on the receiving end of a bread stick because he unexpectedly was a distance in the opening set.
I had been critical of Paul for adopting the typical Yankee Clay Court Swing avoidance strategy, but he played well in Madrid and even better in Rome.
The American is probably the best natural athlete on the tour, and he started sharply, played with confidence and prevented sinners from gaining a foothold.
Paul competed through the set in under 30 minutes and took it 6-1 when the Campo Central audience became quiet, stunned by the world no 1’s slow start.
In the second set, Sinner answered and sharpened his game, cut down wrong and went into the baseline to seize control over the rally. His brand pure ball-banging and relentless movement returned and left Paul with few answers.
Sinner dominated and delivered a 6-0 bagel to level out the match in a display of precision similar to what we saw last night against Ruud.
The decision was a roller coaster. Sinner grew into a 3-0 lead and mixed aggressive shooting with solid defense.
But Paul, who refused to fade, fought back to 3-2, broke the sinner’s serving and threatened to turn the match into a dogfight, especially when sinners showed signs of a hamstring problem.
With Sinner’s legs that prevented him, Paul needed to knock down and try to keep him out there for as long as possible.
But he did not take this approach and shot a string of unthreatened errors to let go again and let the Italian take the set 6-3 after an hour and 44 minutes.
Paul is a great athlete but has no big brain, and I think if he had played a little smarter in the later stages of the third set, maybe he could have crossed the line. Of course, it wasn’t easy, as Sinner played Hyper-Aggressively, but some of the balls that Paul sprayed for a long time were bad mistakes.
Still, it was a fun match, and he gave the sinner a lot to think about when he moves super well, so compared to what Ruud pulled up it was a healthy air.
I was just trying to stay there mentally. Today, conditions were different. It was much colder, heavier. I struggled with it a bit and he broke me right away. I tried to stay there, mentally what can work better. I stayed there in the first set. Winning one game was very important. Tennis can change quickly … Today I showed that every moment is crucial and I am very happy about it and very happy to be in the final. Since the third round I have had a small blister under my foot. It doesn’t allow me to move so well for a few moments. Today I knew it more than yesterday. And with the leg that I am not worried, it was just a little tight, it’s normal. I have to take care of this blisters but there are no excuses. With the adrenaline there will be a lot of energy and for Sunday I am 100 percent not worried. Sinners on their semi -final win.
Match statistics
| Jannik Sinner | Tommy Paul | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 17 | 13 |
| Unwavering errors | 32 | 35 |
| Ace | 4 | 0 |
| Double error | 1 | 3 |
| 1st Earn % | 73% (44/60) | 78% (58/74) |
| 1st serving points | 70% (31/44) | 57% (33/58) |
| 2nd serving points won | 41% (7/17) | 44% (7/16) |
| Break Points saved | 50% (3/6) | 50% (5/10) |
| Service Games | 70% (7/10) | 55% (6/11) |
| 1st return score won | 43% (25/58) | 30% (13/44) |
| 2nd return points won | 56% (9/16) | 59% (10/17) |
| Break Points won | 50% (5/10) | 50% (3/6) |
| Return games | 45% (5/11) | 30% (3/10) |
| Pressure points | 50% (8.06) | 50% (U16) |
| Service points | 63% (38/60) | 54% (40/74) |
| Return points | 46% (34/74) | 37% (22/60) |
| Net points | 60% (3/5) | 67% (2/3) |
| Total score | 54% (72/134) | 46% (62/134) |
| Match points saved | 0 | 2 |
| Max points in line | 10 | 6 |
| Total games | 57% (12/21) | 43% (9/21) |
| Max -game in line | 9 | 5 |
Highlights
Italian Open 2025 Final
- Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (3)
