ROME, Italy (AFP) — Jannik Sinner set up a blockbuster Italian Open final with Carlos Alcaraz by beating Tommy Paul 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 on Friday.

World No. 1 Sinner fought back from a set down in front of a packed crowd to continue his march towards a first title at the Foro Italico.

After a strangely slow start, Sinner again showed good form on center court where, since returning to action last week from a three-month doping ban, he has taken his unbeaten run to 26 matches.

And the 23-year-old will face down Alcaraz, the last man to beat Sinner in the final at the China Open in early October, with all eyes on another potential final between the pair at the French Open next month.

A win for Sinner against his rival would see the men’s Rome title go to an Italian for the first time since Adriano Panatta in 1976.

“If I want to win Sunday I have to play some of my best tennis for sure,” Sinner said.

“Carlos has played incredible tennis today, so let’s see what’s coming but from my side you know it’s incredible to be here in the final.”

Alcaraz booked his place in the showdown by beating Sinner’s countryman Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

The four-time Grand Slam champion overcame Musetti and the windy conditions in just over two hours to reach his fourth final of the season.

“I’m going to have dinner, but my phone is going to be there watching (Sinner’s) match,” Alcaraz said after his win.

“I have to know who I’m going to play. I have to watch the match and see how they are going to play.”

Musetti was beaten by Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo final last month and fell to his fifth straight defeat to the Spaniard after a frustrating display.

And he believes that Alcaraz will have the better of it against Sinner if he brings his top form on Sunday evening.

“I really rate Carlos. I think on clay that the best version of Carlos is favorite against anyone... that includes Jannik,” he told reporters.

Paul rattled off the first five games in 21 minutes in a near replica of what Sinner did to Casper Ruud on Thursday, closing out the first set in less than half an hour.

The last time Sinner lost a set 6-1 was in the quarter-finals of the US Open against Daniil Medvedev, a match he won on his way to his second Grand Slam triumph.

Sinner looked a shadow of the player who dominated tennis throughout 2024 right up to the start of his suspension, which was agreed with the World Anti-Doping Agency in early February.

But from nowhere he came roaring back in the second set, finally forcing Paul back with some deep baseline shots of his own and his first aces of the match to win the second set to love and level the match.