Jannik Sinner has gone all the way to the final in his first tournament back from a three-month doping ban. And Carlos Alcaraz is waiting for him in the Italian Open title match. “Normally when we play each other the level is very high,

World No 1 Sinner is through to his first Italian Open final in his home country, in what is his first tournament since returning to the sport following a three-month doping ban. He has won 26 consecutive matches but Alcaraz was the last player to beat him, at the China Open in October.

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.