Carlos Alcaraz is eagerly anticipating an Indian Wells Open final against "the best tennis player in the world" Daniil Medvedev and expects a long-lasting rivalry with downed opponent Jannik Sinner.
Spaniard Alcaraz defeated Italian Sinner 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in California to reach his first Indian Wells final and move within one win of a return to the top of the ATP World Rankings.
Standing in his way is the in-form Medvedev, who owns a 19-match unbeaten run and has won three straight titles.
The two have only met once competitively, with Medvedev winning in straight sets at Wimbledon in 2021 and Alcaraz always wants to challenge himself against the elite on tour.
"I really want to play against the best tennis player in the world," Alcaraz said.
"I always say that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, and I would say that Daniil is the best player right now, amazing winning streak.
"For me, it's going to be a really difficult challenge but I'm really prepared for that. I will summon my best tomorrow in the final."
Against Sinner, Alcaraz overcame an opponent with whom he is developing quite the budding rivalry.
It was their fifth career showdown and the first time they had met since Alcaraz won a marathon US Open quarter-final, a match that finished at 2.50am local time – the latest ending at the New York major.
"I would say we're going to have a great rivalry over the years. We are playing in the best tournaments in the world. It's not over here. We are going to play a lot of great matches," Alcaraz added.
"All I can say is I'm really happy with my first final here in Indian Wells.
"Playing against Jannik is never easy. I had to overcome a little bit of problems. I had set point down.
"I knew that I had to increase my level to [beat] Jannik. It was a really close first set. In the second set I put out all the nerves and played more relaxed. I think it was the key of everything."
Medvedev will also play in his first Indian Wells final after defeating Frances Tiafoe 7-5 7-6 (7-4) in the other semi-final.
Medvedev has won in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai and will be the first man to win four titles in five weeks since Andy Murray in 2016 if he can down Alcaraz.
Against Tiafoe, the Russian put in a great showing but let slip seven match points and was broken twice when serving for the match.
"It was crazy at the end," said Medvedev. "I got super tight. I would say that [after] 6-5, 40-0, I think I got tight at deuce when I was like, 'Oh my god, that's a lot of opportunities missed, this could go not well for me'.
"So, I got really tight, [but] I still managed to continue playing good. The ace [on match point] was a relief, I’m just really happy that I managed not to lose this match."
Swiatek seals Italian Open hat-trick after soaring past Sabalenka
Iga Swiatek stormed to her third Italian Open title following a dominant 6-2 6-3 victory over Aryna Sabalenka.
The world number one took just under an hour-and-a-half to deny the world number two, and complete a hat-trick of triumphs in Rome.
The pair were contesting a second final in as many events, with Swiatek saving three championship points before eventually prevailing in the Madrid Open showpiece a fortnight ago.
However, it was one-way traffic this time around. The Pole converted two out of three break points as she controlled the opening set.
Sabalenka was the last player to deny Swiatek in a WTA final, that coming at last year's Madrid Open.
Although, the second seed was helpless as her opponent broke again in game seven of the second set, before wrapping up a fourth title of the season ahead of the French Open later this month.
Data debrief
Landing her third Italian Open title before turning 23, Swiatek is only the second player to achieve that feat after Gabriela Sabatini.
In fact, at 22 years and 352 days old, she is the youngest player to win 10 WTA 1000 titles since the introduction of the format in 2009.
The Pole also became the third player to triumph in Madrid and Rome during the same season, after Dinara Safina (2009) and Serena Williams (2013).
Jarry defeats Paul to set up Zverev showdown in Italian Open final
Nicolas Jarry defeated Tommy Paul in three sets on Friday to set up a showdown with Alexander Zverev in the Italian Open final.
The men's world number 24 prevailed 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 in a little under three hours in Rome to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.
Jarry earned the only break of serve in the eighth game of the opening set, but Paul - who dropped just one set in four matches en route to this stage - hit back in the second.
Birthday boy Paul lost serve to trail 4-2 at one stage, but he produced one of the shots of the tournament at the ideal moment and soon dragged it back to 4-4.
A gruelling set concluded with Paul taking the tie-break 7-3, but Jarry was unperturbed and won the deciding set with his fifth match point to see off Paul in a gruelling contest.
Data Debrief:
Jarry is the third male Chilean in the Open Era to reach the singles final of the Italian Open after Marcelo Rios (1997-98) and Fernando Gonzalez (2007).
The 28-year-old registered 13 aces against Paul to his opponent's seven and hit 35 winners to 19 in a deserved victory.
Zverev ends Tabilo's dream run to reach Italian Open final
Alexander Zverev fought back from the brink to reach the Italian Open final on Friday, overcoming Alejandro Tabilo by a 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 scoreline in the last four.
Zverev was punished for a slow start as Tabilo took the opener within 32 minutes, but the German fought back in a one-hour, 15-minute slog of a second set.
The 2017 Italian Open champion put his foot down from 3-3 in the second-set tie-break, with Tabilo potentially feeling the effects of a fine run that included a last-32 upset of Novak Djokovic.
Zverev upped the intensity in the final set and won a huge 94 per cent of points behind his first serve as his opponent wilted, the third seed reaching the Rome final for a third time.
Data Debrief: Zverev draws level with Becker
Zverev will now face either Nicolas Jarry or Tommy Paul in Sunday's final, which will be his 11th at ATP 1000 Masters level.
That tally pulls him level with Boris Becker for most such finals by a German player since the format's 1990 introduction.
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