The two young rivals have won the last five grand slam titles, with Sinner winning three in a row on the hard-courts of the Australian Open and the US Open and Alcaraz conquering the other surfaces by winning the French Open and Wimbledon.

A couple of weeks in Rome that started with the return of the prodigal son and then took in the election of a new Pope will have a fittingly blockbuster ending: the world’s two best male tennis players facing off for the Italian Open title.

ROME (AP) — Carlo Alcaraz advanced to his first Italian Open final with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Lorenzo Musetti on Friday. It’s 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 before withdrawing from the Madrid Open because of injury.