Carlos Alcaraz reached his first career final at the Rome Masters 1000, although he did not play his best tennis for most of the week. The former world number 3 has had several ups and downs during this tournament as well, but he has always managed to make the difference in the decisive moments and will try to win his seventh Masters 1000 tomorrow.

A couple of weeks in Rome that started with the return of the prodigal son and then took in the election of a new Pope will have a fittingly blockbuster ending: the world’s two best male tennis players facing off for the Italian Open title.

Surpassing 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 (20y 345d, Ham