Jannik Sinner will face Casper Ruud in the men’s final of the Italian Open after finishing off Daniil Medvedev in Saturday’s closing chapter of an enthralling, rain-interrupted last-four clash.
The world No 1 could claim a record-extending sixth Masters 1000 title on Sunday thanks to a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win which had almost everything over the course of its two-and-a-half hours.
Sinner had to have treatment on his right thigh and even vomited during Friday night’s leg of the semifinal as Medvedev gave the Italian by far his toughest test of the tournament.
But he looked in much better spirits before the restart as he joked and played football with his coaching team during his warm-up in the bowels of the centre court arena, just as warm Spring sunshine started to shine after a few days of volatile weather.
The match was scheduled to restart at at 3.00pm local time (1300GMT) but was again delayed by an hour both due to more rain in Rome and the men’s double semifinal, won by Sinner’s compatriots Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
A 4-2 lead in the third set for Sinner when play was stopped was too much for Medvedev to overcome, and the Italian sealed his 33rd straight win in the ATP’s top-ranked tournaments.
Medvedev was at advantage in game seven of the third set, which he immediately won, but Sinner won the next game on his service to love and closed out the match in less than 20 minutes.
Ruud gets a chance for revenge for a brutal hammering against Sinner here last year after dismantling Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-1 on Saturday, another match interrupted by heavy rain.
The Norwegian has not won a single set in any of his four matches with Sinner and was destroyed 6-0, 6-1 by him in the 2025 last eight in one of the most one-sided matches ever seen at the Foro Italico.
Jannik Sinner, Italian Open, Daniil Medvedev, tennis news, Casper Ruud, Masters 1000