Jannik Sinner moved just one win away from completing the career Golden Masters after he beat Daniil Medvedev to reach his first Italian Open final.
The match had been suspended on Friday because of rain with Sinner leading 4-2 in the deciding set and, following its resumption on Saturday, the Italian took just 15 minutes to seal his progress with a 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory.
The world number one failed to take two match points on Medvedev’s serve at 5-3 in the third set, but served out the next game to continue his bid to join Novak Djokovic as only the second man to win all nine Masters 1000 titles – the sport’s highest level below the Grand Slams.
The success also extended his record of ATP Masters 1000 wins to 33.
Sinner will face Casper Ruud, who overcame Italy’s world number 20 Luciano Darderi 6-1 6-1, in the final.
After his win on Friday, Norway’s Ruud said: “It’s my 10th semi-final I think in a Masters 1000 and it was his first so you try to use that experience to your advantage and I think I did that well.
“He was maybe a little bit stressed, a little bit nervous of the occasion, but I tried to stay focused and kind of in my own tunnel vision.”
