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Jasmine Paolini ended Italy’s 40-year wait for another home women’s winner at the Italian Open as she beat Coco Gauff to lift the trophy and with it came a big points tally and handy prize winner’s cheque.

Finalists Paolini and Gauff scored rankings boosts ahead of the French Open while 2024 champion Iga Swiatek was effectively -935 after her early exit from the clay-court tournament.

But it was a day for the home fans at Foro Italico as Paolini defeated her American opponent 6–4, 6–2 to win her second WTA 1000 title and third career title.

She is only the second Italian woman after Raffaella Reggi in 1985 to win the tournament in the Open Era. It is also her first title since she lifted the Dubai Tennis Championships trophy in February 2024 with her other tournament win coming at the 2021 Slovenia Open.

But how many points and how much money did Paolini and her fellow competitors earn in Rome?

WTA Points Earned In Rome

WTA 1000 winners earn 1,000 points, but from the previous year are deducted from their rankings. There is good news for Paolini as she lost in the second round in 2024 so she only dropped 10 points and will add a massive 990 points to her WTA Rankings tally.

With the win, Paolini will move up to fourth in the rankings, moving ahead of Swiatek.

Gauff reached the semi-final last year so had 390 points to defend, resulting in her adding 260 (650-390) to her total. Her move up to No 2 in the rankings was confirmed before the final.

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Zheng Qinwen and Peyton Stearns were the semi-finalists and the former added 175 while the American didn’t compete in Rome last year, but will leave with 363 points as she had 27 points from the 2024 WTA 125 Saint Malo event. Stearns will climb to a new career-high No 28 with her last-four run.

Quarter-finalists earn 215 points and Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Diana Shnaider and Elina Svitolina exited at this stage, but Sabalenka left with -435 as she finished runner-up last year.

Andreeva (205), Shnaider (85) and Svitolina (95) added some points.

What about the other high-profile players?

Emma Raducanu enjoyed her best-ever run at the Italian Open as she reached the fourth round before losing to Gauff. She gets the full complement of 120 points as she didn’t play last year.

Defending champion Swiatek lost a round earlier and was thus unable to defend her points from last year so will be -935 (1,000-65) when the rankings are updated on Monday, dropping to fifth.

Rising star Alex Eala lost in the first round, but didn’t earn any points as she was defending points from a 2024 ITF event.

WTA Prize Money Earned In Rome

As per the official WTA website, the winners earned €877,390 (roughly $1m) so she will almost double her 2025 prize money earnings as she was on $1,217,537 before the tournament. Her career total is $9,765,349.

Gauff – 19th in the all-time prize-money earning list, secured a cheque of €456,935 ($525,475) while Zheng and Stearns went home with €240,380 ($276,437).

Sabalenka, Andreeva, Shnaider and Svitolina are €124,700 ($143,405) richer after the tournament while Raducanu and the other fourth-round losers earned €66,110 ($76,027).

Swiatek, who has earned more than $35m during her playing career, secured a cheque of €38,313 ($44,060) while Eala received €13,150 ($15,123).

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Jasmine Paolini produced a stunning performance against Coco Gauff to win the 2025 Italian Open, the second WTA 1000 title of her career.

The Italian looked simply unplayable for much of the match, victorious 6-4, 6-2 over the world No 3 in just 90 minutes.

The result will have been extra sweet for Paolini, becoming the first Italian singles champion in Rome in 40 years, just the second in the Open Era (after Raffaella Reggi).

“I don’t have the words, it’s been an incredible two weeks,” exclaimed Paolini.

“I was trying to just focus on the match, trying to repeat to myself that you have you stay there for every ball, but, at the beginning, I was feeling great, the best match that I’ve played here.

“It was a great final, I’m really happy about the win, in front of the home crowd, my family, my team, and the president, so it’s amazing.”

Coming into the match, it was the American who led the head-to-head 2-1, but Paolini managed to notch a win during their latest clay-court meeting in Stuttgart.

“Against Coco, I had to raise the level compared to the past few matches,” the Italian said.

“She’s coming for another final so she was playing good, but you can do it. You have to stay on the court and do whatever you think is right, and just keep going.

“This is something special, to win here in Rome is special. I was coming to watch this tournament with my family, with my father, my father was there, and I don’t know if he was crying, but it’s a dream.”

Paolini is the first Italian female singles player to win at least one title at WTA 1000 level or above on multiple surfaces, having won the title in Dubai in 2024 with a three-set victory over Anna Kalinskaya.

“I have had a great week,” Gauff said, during the trophy presentation.

“I’ve been here so many times, made the semis twice, so I was happy to get to the final. Jasmine, you’re an amazing person and player, and congratulations on this amazing achievement.

“It’s always tough playing you.”

Despite her defeat in the final, the American will rise to the world No 2 spot, matching her career-best ranking which she first achieved in June 2024.

Whilst the climb means that she cannot face Aryna Sabalenka before the final in Paris, Gauff has made clear that the only goal in her mind – when it comes to ranking – is the world No 1 spot.

“No, I’m going to be honest, it’s [the ranking] not important to me, honestly,” Gauff admitted, during the Madrid Masters

“I mean, the only number that would mean a lot to me is 1 at this point. But, yeah, anything anywhere else is just, it’s just a number.

“So, yeah, but, I mean, obviously it’s a reward for the work that I’m doing and the consistency that I’m showing, but it’s not something that I think about or have a goal to reach.”

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As a result of the title lift, Paolini secured a top-4 seeding for Roland Garros – leapfrogging defending champion Iga Swiatek.

However, Paolini is not finished yet in Rome, as she will seek to defend her doubles title alongside Sara Errani against Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens in the women’s doubles showpiece match on Sunday.

The post Jasmine Paolini wins her 2nd WTA 1000 title, dominating Coco Gauff to lift the Italian Open trophy appeared first on Tennis365.

Emma Raducanu is playing some of the best clay-court tennis of her career in 2025, also showing a return to form at the Miami Open in March with a run to the quarter-finals.

Her next event is scheduled to be at the WTA event in Strasbourg, taking place from May 18 – May 24.

Raducanu will face either Danielle Collins or Sofia Kenin in the second round, however, before she can look forward to that encounter, she must get past world No 15 Daria Kasatkina.

Here is all that you need to know about the Australian.

Career Highlights

Kasatkina is a former world No 8, a position which she first achieved in October 2022.

Her best result at Grand Slam level was a semi-final showing at Roland Garros that same year, reaching the last eight at the US Open in 2018.

As a junior, she was ranked as highly as world No 3 and claimed the title at the 2014 girls’ singles event at Roland Garros.

Overall, Kasatkina has won eight titles, most recenly doing so in October 2024 at the Ningbo Open – a WTA 500 event.

2025 so far

The former world No 8 began her season by participating in three Australian events, making the second round in Brisbane, the quarter-final in Adelaide, and the fourth round at the Australian Open.

From there, Kastatkina lost in her opening match in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, reaching the round of 16 at the Qatar Open.

At Indian Wells, she got a solid victory over Sofa Kenin, before losing her next match, as well as her opening encounter at the Miami Open.

On the clay, Kasatkina has managed to win two out of the five singles matches that she has contested.

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Head-to-head

Unfortunately for Raducanu, it is Kasatkina who has won all three of their matches.

Their first encounter arrived at the Ostrava Open in 2022, when the Australian was in the best form of her life – claiming the match 7-5, 6-4.

Nearly two years later, they met at the Rothesay International event, with Raducanu being completely outplayed 6-2, 6-2.

Their most recent match occurred at the Korea Open in September 2024, where the Brit retired from the match after losing the first set 6-1 – due to an ongoing foot issue.

After the match, Kasatkina said: “I feel sorry for Emma. It’s a pity to get injured, especially in the deeper stages of the tournament. I wish her a speedy recovery.”

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The draw for the WTA tournament in Strasbourg is out, and Emma Raducanu features in one of several intriguing early matchups in a strong field.

The clay-court 500 event, which will be held in the week before the French Open from May 18 to 24, features six top 20 players — including three top 10 stars.

Madison Keys was the 2024 champion, but she chose not to play this year. The draw includes 28 players, including four wildcards: Jessica Pegula, Raducanu, Diane Parry and Alize Cornet.

The seeded players are Pegula (1), Emma Navarro (2), Paula Badosa (3), Elena Rybakina (4), Daria Kasatkina (6), Barbora Krejcikova (7) and Liudmila Samsonova (8).

Elina Svitolina was the fifth seed, but her place will be taken by a lucky loser as she pulled out after the draw was made. Ekaterina Alexandrova and Olga Danilovic have also withdrawn.

The top four seeds receive a bye to the second round, while players seeded between five to eight will enter in the opening round.

Top half

Pegula, Badosa, Kasatkina and Samsonova are the four seeded players in a stacked top half of the draw.

Top seed Pegula will face Anna Kalinskaya or a qualifier in her opening match, while she is projected to meet Kasatkina in the quarter-finals.

Raducanu has been handed a brutal draw as she will play Kasatkina — against whom she holds a 0-3 record — in the first round. Whoever prevails will take on the winner of a spicy all-American matchup between Danielle Collins and Sofia Kenin.

No 3 seed Paula Badosa has not played since the Miami Open in March due to her persistent back injury, and the Spaniard is set to play Alize Cornet or a qualifier in her opener. Eighth seed Samsonova is projected to meet Badosa in the last eight.

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Bottom half

Second seed Emma Navarro will face the winner of an opening round clash between Magdalena Frech and Beatriz Haddad Maia.

With Svitolina withdrawing, world No 23 Clara Tauson is the highest-ranked player Navarro could face in the quarter-finals.

No 4 seed Rybakina will begin her campaign against Wang Xinyu, and she is on a quarter-final collision course with fellow Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova.

Krejcikova, the seventh seed, is set to play her first event of the 2025 season, having not featured since the WTA Finals in November due to injury.

Projected quarter-finals

Pegula (1) vs. Kasatkina (6)

Badosa (3) vs. Samsonova (8)

Rybakina (4) vs. Krejcikova (7)

Navarro (2) vs. Tauson (unseeded)

Fantastic draw in the Strasbourg WTA 500.

1st rounds
Collins-Kenin
Kasatkina-Raducanu
Samsonova-Noskova
Krejcikova (!)-Linette
Haddad Maia-Frech

Wow.

(Svitolina withdrew) pic.twitter.com/3Wq7EQtW9x

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 17, 2025

READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu receives major boost as she makes key Wimbledon coach decision

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In the final week before Roland Garros gets underway, the ninth ATP 500 of 2025 – at the Hamburg Open – will host an array of top players looking for a last-minute clay preparation.

At last year’s edition, Arthur Fils defeated Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(1) to lift the second ATP title of his career.

However, the Hamburg Open has seen various high-profile withdrawals within the last few weeks – including world No 1 Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, Lorenzo Musetti, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Ugo Humbert, and Tommy Paul.

Many of these withdrawals are undoubtedly due to the event’s newly-found position within the ATP Tour’s calendar, having previously been held between Wimbledon and the first hard-court events in North America.

Despite this, the entry list means that the event promises to be an exciting prospect, with Alexander Zverev, Frances Tiafoe, Andrey Rublev, and Francisco Cerundolo leading the way as the top four seeds.

Top Half

Current world No 3 Zverev took a wildcard into the event after a string of disappointing results over the clay-court season, losing in the second round, fourth round, and quarterfinals of the three Masters 1000s, respectively.

The German will open his Hamburg campaign against a qualifier or a lucky loser, before likely facing Alexandre Muller in the third round. Zverev has faced the Frenchman on two occasions, winning all five of their sets, including a 6-4, 6-1 victory at the ATP 250 event in Munich earlier in 2025.

Sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime – a possible last-eight opponent for Zverev – opens against the experienced clay courter Daniel Altmaier. The Canadian has claimed multiple titles this season, but has struggled as of late to string wins together, failing to reach to go beyond the third round of any Masters 1000.

Most recently, Auger-Aliassime withdrew from Rome due to a lower back injury. Should the Canadian get through Altmaier, he would meet either Alexander Bublik or  Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard before – potentially – facing Zverev.

Third seed Andrey Rublev leads the opposing section within the top half, with Brandon Nakashima, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Lucas Darderi also featuring.

Should both the German and the Russian make the projected semi-final, neither would feel overly confident in gaining the victory. Zverev leads the head-to-head 7-3, but it is Rublev who claimed their most recent clay-court meeting – with both struggling for confidence, recently.

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Bottom Half

Tiafoe, as the second seed, leads the bottom half of the Hamburg Open draw. The American has had mixed clay-court results this season, reaching the final of Houston and the fourth round of the Madrid Masters, but falling in his opening match in Barcelona and Rome.

Nevertheless, he will open against Yunchaokete Bu – an opponent who he has never met. In the third round, Tiafoe is projected to face either Roberto Bautista Agut or Marcos Giron, with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Gael Monfils, and Flavio Cobolli as possible quarter-final opponents.

Fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo is one of the most in-form players of the clay-court season, reaching multiple semi-finals and putting on a good showing against Jannik Sinner in Rome.

He opens against Pedro Martinez, before likely encountering Jiri Lehecka in the second round. From there, it is an all-Argentinian affair, with Sebastian Baez, Tomas Etcheverry, Camilo Ugo Carabelli, and Francisco Comesana being his four potential quarter-final opponents

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The draw for the 2025 Geneva Open has been made, and Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz have learned their potential opponents.

The clay-court ATP 250 tournament, which will run from May 18 to 24, features 28 players, including three wildcards and four qualifiers.

Casper Ruud was the defending champion, but he has withdrawn. Grigor Dimitrov, Tallon Griekspoor, Denis Shapovalov, Jordan Thompson and Lorenzo Sonego have also pulled out.

Five players in the top 25 of the ATP Rankings will feature, including three top 20 stars.

Fritz and Djokovic, who are ranked fourth and sixth respectively, headline the draw as the two top 10 stars in action.

The other seeded players are Tomas Machac, Karen Khachanov, Alexei Popyrin, Hubert Hurkacz, Alex Michelsen and Matteo Arnaldi.

The top four seeds receive a bye to the second round, while players seeded from five to eight will enter in the opening round.

Novak Djokovic’s draw

As the No 2 seed, Djokovic has landed in the bottom half, and he looks set to meet some potentially dangerous opponents.

The Serbian will face either world No 50 Zizou Bergs or 134th-ranked Marton Fucsovics — a former world No 31 — in the second round.

Djokovic could then play world No 37 and eighth seed Matteo Arnaldi, who he lost 3-6, 4-6 to at the Madrid Masters in his most recent match. Talented Hungarian Fabian Marozsan, who is ranked 61st, is another possible last eight rival.

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In the semi-finals, Djokovic is projected to meet third seed and world No 20 Machac — who he was beaten by at the same stage at last year’s Geneva Open.

World No 25 Alexei Popyrin, who stunned Djokovic at the 2024 US Open, is the other seeded player the tennis icon could meet in the last four, while Nicolas Jarry and Jacob Fearnley are also in this section.

If Djokovic progresses to the final, the seeded players he could face are Fritz, Khachanov, Hurkacz and Michelsen.

Taylor Fritz’s draw

Fritz, who is the No 1 seed, will begin his Geneva campaign against either Jaume Munar or Quentin Halys.

The American is projected to face Hurkacz in the last eight, with Miomir Kecmanovic another potential opponent.

In the last four, Fritz could meet Khachanov or Michelsen in terms of seeded players, while Nuno Borges, Kei Nishikori and Learner Tien could also feature.

Djokovic, Machac, Popyrin and Arnaldi are the seeded players who may await Fritz in the championship match.

READ NEXT: Sinner, Musetti, Rune lead big name Hamburg Open withdrawals – but one star will play

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The 2025 Hamburg Open has been rocked by the late withdrawals of a host of big name players, with world No 1 Jannik Sinner the most notable.

The ATP 500 tournament, which will begin on May 18, looked set for a strong field as the initial entry list featured nine of the current ATP top 20, including three top 10 stars.

However, the event’s new calendar position in the week before the French Open has proven damaging to its player field. The Hamburg Open was previously staged in July after Wimbledon.

As well as Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune — who are ranked ninth and 10th respectively — have pull out.

Tommy Paul and Stefanos Tsitsipas are the other top 20 stars to withdraw, while 22nd-ranked Sebastian Korda and world No 23 Ugo Humbert have also chosen not to compete.

Sinner, Musetti and Paul all pulled out after reaching the semi-finals of the Italian Open.

Despite the considerable blows of the withdrawals, the tournament has been handed one big boost.

Alexander Zverev, the world No 2 and Germany’s leading tennis star, has accepted the A+ wildcard to play in Hamburg. A+ wildcards are often reserved for high-ranked players to make late entries into 500 level events.

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The 28-year-old was a champion in Hamburg in 2023, while he was a runner-up to Arthur Fils last year.

Zverev was not initially planning to feature in Hamburg, but he changed his mind when offered the wildcard after his quarter-final loss to Musetti in Rome.

The German will be the only top 10 star in the draw, and he will be joined by three other top 20 players: Frances Tiafoe, Andrey Rublev and Francisco Cerundolo.

Jakub Mensik, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Brandon Nakashima are set to be seeded from fifth to eighth.

Updated Hamburg Open Entry List

1) Alexander Zverev (WC)
2) Frances Tiafoe
3) Andrey Rublev
4) Francisco Cerundolo
5) Jakub Mensik
6) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
7) Felix Auger-Aliassime
8) Brandon Nakashima
Sebastian Baez
Flavio Cobolli
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Jiri Lehecka
Alexandre Muller
Gael Monfils
Marcos Giron
Luciano Darderi
Pedro Martinez
Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Roberto Bautista Agut
Camilo Ugo Carabelli
Francisco Comesana
Damir Dzumhur
Daniel Altmaier
Yunchaokete Bu
Alexander Bublik
Jan-Lennard Struff (WC)
Diego Dedura (WC)
Justin Engel (WC)

READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz asked about facing Jannik Sinner before Italian Open blockbuster

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Carlos Alcaraz’s Netflix documentary threw up plenty of talking points, with the targets being set for the 21-year-old Spaniard sparking a big debate.

Alcaraz has already won four Grand Slam titles in what has been a sensational start to his career, but it was clear that the team working with him are piling the pressure on to try and take him to the levels of excellence achieved by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

The three greatest players of all-time have won a total of 66 Grand Slam titles between them, as they re-wrote the record books in tennis and good the levels of achievement to previously unimaginable levels.

Yet Alcaraz’s manager Albert Molina and his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, suggested their young charge needed to change his attitude if he wanted to win as many major titles as the greatest players of all time.

“I’m starting to doubt whether Carlos can become the greatest player in history because of his approach to work and sacrifice. It’s so different from the Big 3,” said Ferrero in the documentary.

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He was also shown talking to Alcaraz as he gave him advice that confirmed he didn’t agree with his decision to take time away from tennis.

“We must learn from our mistakes,” said Ferrero. “You need to find the balance between vacation, training, and motivation. And it’s not easy. You were invited to a Formula 1 weekend, which I didn’t think was right for you, but you went anyway.

“There will be many times when I won’t agree with you. There will be plenty of moments when you’ll want to do something else. As you mature, you’ll understand what you need and what you really should be doing.

“We’re here to help you and tell you things. Novak is extremely careful with his diet, he sleeps as much as he needs to, and he trains as much as he must. It’s absolute dedication to being the greatest of all time.”

Now former British No 1 Laura Robson had hit out at those comments, as she suggested the levels of expectations being placed onto Alcaraz’s shoulders are not realistic.

“It was an interesting documentary because it showed how much pressure he puts on himself and also from his team,” Robson told Sky Sports Tennis.

“They are talking about wanting to get to three or four Grand Slams a year and if we do it for this many years, we will hit Novak’s numbers.

“To be even thinking about that is kind of absurd.

“We’ve had the best three players of all-time back-to-back-to-back in Federer, Nadal and Djokovic and for anyone to try and hit those heights would be unheard of.

“For anyone to finish a career with four or five Slams, that is already amazing. And yet we are trying to get people into the 20s.”

Former British No 1 Tim Henman also gave his verdict on Alcaraz’s Netflix film, as he suggested discipline will be needed for the Spaniard to have any hope of having a career to match the game’s all-time greats.

“The reality is, the very best have good habits, whatever the event,” said Henman.

“With Alcaraz, we are in a conversation with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic and that’s the slight question mark with Alcaraz. I love watching him play, he’s absolutely brilliant, but there are times when he lacks the discipline around shot selection.

“When you are talking about building that Grand Slam tally and getting into double figures, that’s the question mark for me.”

READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz’s biggest flaw highlighted by Tim Henman ahead of French Open

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Jannik Sinner appears to be an unstoppable force in the men’s game after his stunning return to action at the Italian Open, but tennis legend Andre Agassi believes he could be stopped by his great rival Carlos Alcaraz at the upcoming French Open.

Sinner has snapped back into top form after a three-month doping suspension to turn in some powerful performances in front of his home fans in Rome.

That has led many to conclude the world No 1 is the favourite to succeed Alcaraz as French Open champion at Roland Garros, but Agassi offered up an alternative view to the Tennis Channel.

“What impresses me most about Alcaraz, although I believe he still has many things to improve, is when I’ve seen him on grass or slippery ground, his way of slowing down, especially compared to other faster opponents like Tommy Paul or Alex De Minaur,” said Agassi.

“These two, for instance, lose a lot of their confidence and balance whenever they step onto clay or grass, they don’t move the same. Paul has had great success against Alcaraz, but it’s always been on hard courts.

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“I don’t know how Alcaraz manages not to lose all these components when switching to other surfaces; it’s like a spaceship playing against regular planes, his strength, balance, and agility are always there.

“On grass, it’s amazing how he reaches every ball, covers drop shots, moves athletically as if it were nothing. I suppose the secret lies in his legs, where all that strength comes from. When he competes on these two surfaces, he starts with that advantage, as long as he’s healthy and feels the ball well.”

While Agassi likes Alcaraz’s chances of beating Sinner on clay and grass courts, he admits the Italian is close to being unstoppable on hard courts.

Sinner has won the last three Grand Slams on hard courts in Australian and America, with Agassi suggesting that dominance will continue.

“Alcaraz’s upside on anything that’s slippery is his chance to have an advantage over Sinner”

Andre Agassi gave his thorough take on the Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz comparsions.#TCLive pic.twitter.com/zPOPR4EreM

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 15, 2025

“When you see Sinner playing on hard courts, the feeling is that he can handle all these balls, there’s a lot of action on the court, but Jannik is able to get on top of that ball, even overcome the effects and rotation of Carlos’s ball,” he stated.

“The way Sinner strikes the ball is by punishing it, but always with intentionality and maximum energy. When he starts playing this way, especially on hard courts, as he did in the last US Open, it’s hard to stop.”

When asked whether he feels Alcaraz or Sinner would end up with the most Grand Slam titles, Agassi added: “It’s a fascinating question, perhaps the question of the moment, given what both are achieving and what they already represent for the world of sports.

“People wonder who of the two will end up being better, who will have a better career. Whatever we say will be more of a prediction than reality, but for me, the key is that Alcaraz is above any slippery condition he may face, that’s where his great opportunity to outdo Sinner lies.”

READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz betters Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as he powers into Italian Open final

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Carlos Alcaraz has joined some of the game’s all-time greats after booking his place in the Italian Open final for the first time.

In a thrilling contest in front of a passionate Rome crowd, Alcaraz beat Italian favourite Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 7-6[4] in a contest laced with drama and intrigue.

Alcaraz came into this tournament with doubts over his fitness levels after he was forced to pull out of the Madrid Masters, but he has confirmed he is ready to take on the game’s best with his strong run in the Italian capital.

“Today was a really difficult day with the conditions, the wind was tough to play with,” said Alcaraz, quoted on the ATP Tour website.

“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.

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“Today the crowd was for Lorenzo. So it wasn’t easy. It was great honestly. The atmosphere was great. I have to say thank you for them being respectful as well.

“Obviously, there are some times they were cheering for him in some moments between serves or whatever. But in general they were respectful. So I have to thank them.”

“In the final, let’s see who I’m gonna play against. Both are playing great.”

The win saw Alcaraz carve himself some more records that put him alongside the all-time greats of the game, with his level of consistency even better than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal this stage of his career.

Since 1973, Alcaraz now trails only three players for winning percentage against ATP top 10 opponents, with Bjorn Borg, Novak Djokovic and Boris Becker ahead of him in this statistic.

This win against world No 9 Musetti took Alcaraz’s record of wins against top ten oppponents to 65%, with a 39-21 winning record against players ranked in the ATP’s elite list.

In addition, since the introduction of ATP 1000 tournaments in 1990, Alcaraz (26.7%, 8/30) is now one of four to reach the final from 25+% of ATP Masters 1000 main draws entered, along with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.

He also surpassed his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Alcaraz (22y 2d) is the second-youngest player to reach the final at three ATP Masters 1000 events on clay, older than only Rafael Nadal, who reached the Hamburg final in 2008 final aged 20 years 345 days.

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