Carlos Alcaraz through to Rome Masters FinalCarlos Alcaraz advanced to his third final in his third tournament of the European clay-court swing when he defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6(4) at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Friday afternoon.
Alcaraz broke Musetti five times and won a whopping 73 per cent of his second-serve return points to prevail in two hours and three minutes.
Musetti, who is 13-3 on clay this spring, found his game in the second set following a slow start.
The ninth-ranked Italian did well to force a tiebreaker even though he incurred a point penalty late in the set for both racket abuse and ball abuse.
In the ‘breaker, however, Alcaraz seized a quick mini-break for 2-0 and never trailed at any point.
This marks Alcaraz’s first appearance in the Rome final in just his second trip to the tournament.
“Today was a really difficult day with the conditions. The wind was tough to play with,” the word No. 3 said during his on-court interview.
“It wasn’t about playing brilliant, spectacular tennis. It was about playing smart tennis, playing solid, going to the point when you can, and waiting for the chance to play aggressively. I think I did that pretty well, I stayed strong mentally when things didn’t go to my side.”
Before missing the Madrid Masters due to a leg injury, Alcaraz triumphed at the Monte-Carlo Masters and finished runner-up in Barcelona to Holger Rune. He also beat Musetti in the Monte-Carlo final.
The 22-year-old will face the winner of Friday’s second semifinal between Jannik Sinner and Tommy Paul.
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