Carlos Alcaraz makes more history as he powers into Italian Open final

By SABC Sport
17th May 2025

Carlos Alcaraz has joined some of the game's all-time greats after booking his place in the Italian Open final for the first time.

In a thrilling contest in front of a passionate Rome crowd, Alcaraz beat Italian favourite Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 7-6[4] in a contest laced with drama and intrigue.

Alcaraz came into this tournament with doubts over his fitness levels after he was forced to pull out of the Madrid Masters, but he has confirmed he is ready to take on the game's best with his strong run in the Italian capital.

"Today was a really difficult day with the conditions, the wind was tough to play with," said Alcaraz, quoted on the ATP Tour website.

"It wasn't about playing brilliant, spectacular tennis. It was about playing smart tennis, playing solid, going to the point when you can, and waiting for the chance to play aggressively.

"I think I did that pretty well, I stayed strong mentally when things didn't go to my side.

"It wasn't about playing brilliant, spectacular tennis. It was about playing smart tennis, playing solid, going to the point when you can, and waiting for the chance to play aggressively.

"I think I did that pretty well, I stayed strong mentally when things didn't go to my side.

"In the final, let's see who I'm gonna play against. Both are playing great."

The win saw Alcaraz carve himself some more records that put him alongside the all-time greats of the game, with his level of consistency even better than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal this stage of his career.

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 in this statistic.