Sinner survives 'punch in face' to set up Alcaraz final

WORLD No 1 Jannik Sinner produced a sublime semi-final display as he fought back from a set down to beat American Tommy Paul 1-6 6-0 6-3 on Friday night to set up an Italian Open final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz today.

- 

Sinner ended a 47-year wait for an Italian to reach the men’s singles final in Rome after Adriano Panatta lost the title match to Bjorn Borg in 1978.

Serving first, 11th seed Paul stunned the crowd and went up 5-0 in the first set against Sinner, who approached the clash on a career-best 25-match winning streak.

But the Italian top seed, making his comeback this week after serving a three-month doping ban, kept his cool and orchestrated a stunning comeback in the second.

He delivered a bagel, giving his rival no chance when forcing a decider.

Sinner, who is playing in his first tournament since capturing Australian Open title, was up 3-0 in the final set before marching on to reach his seventh ATP Masters 1000 final.