Carlos Alcaraz defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) in the semi-finals of the Italian Open on Friday.
The Spanish star breezed past Musetti in two hours to reach his fourth final of the season after winning the first set in style.
Musetti fought back to take a 3-1 lead in the second set before bottling it as Alcaraz snatched a 4-4 with a break point.
The Italian saw off the likes of Daniil Medvedev and then defending champion Alexander Zverev on his way to the last four.
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.
Alcaraz admitted the encounter was tough while praising Musetti for his performance in the tournament.
He said, “It was a tough match today; he has come through qualifying playing good tennis, so I knew it would be tough.
“I was trying to get my energy up a little bit from the start. I was a bit flat today, but I thought I did a really good job of competing hard throughout the match, and he definitely came out in the second.
“I am human; it’s tough being mentally and physically on for the last three weeks. It’s not easy, especially if you go deep.
“It’s really tough to stay there mentally every point, and I got a bit frustrated, but I managed to come through and I’m proud of it.
“I need to make sure my standards don’t drop, keep my body injury-free, and just try and do the right things.”
Alcaraz will now face the winner between Jannik Sinner or Tommy Paul in the Italian Open final on Sunday.
