Carlos Alcaraz roars to first Italian Open title as Jannik Sinner falters on home soil

Carlos Alcaraz had little trouble dismantling Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open final, sealing a 7-6(5) 6-1 victory to snap the world number one’s 26-match winning streak and break the hearts of the home crowd on Sunday.

Alcaraz edged a tense opening set in a tiebreak after he and Sinner traded blows from the baseline on a warm evening in front of a packed Centre Court crowd.

However, from the second set onwards, Alcaraz silenced the home crowd as he completely outplayed Sinner, cruising to victory in their first-ever clash in a Masters 1000 final.

"I'm proud of myself, with the way I approached the match mentally. Tactically, I think I played pretty well from the first point until the last one," Alcaraz said in an on-court interview.

"I'm just really happy to get my first Rome (title), hopefully it’s not going to be the last one."

For Sinner, it was particularly disappointing that he could not make it a double celebration for Italy after compatriot Jasmine Paolini won the women's title a day earlier.

Sinner was playing his first tournament since winning the Australian Open in January and was hoping to become the first Italian man to triumph in Rome since Adriano Panatta in 1976, but he had to settle for second best.

The Spaniard has now beaten Sinner in their last four meetings, firing a warning shot to his rivals ahead of the upcoming French Open where he is set to defend his title.

"Beating Jannik, winning Rome. Both things mix together and give (me) great confidence going to Paris," Alcaraz said.

Jasmine Paolini first Italian woman to win Rome singles title since 1985

Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman to win the Italian Open in 40 years when she beat American world number three Coco Gauff 6-4 6-2 in the final on Saturday.

It was Paolini's biggest claycourt title and her second 1000-level crown, with the 29-year-old from Tuscany having won the Dubai Championships last year.

Roared on by an adoring home crowd, Paolini became the first home player to win the women's title at the Italian Open after Raffaella Reggi in 1985.

Gauff had won two of her previous three meetings with Paolini but the 2023 U.S. Open champion had no answers to the solid play of the Italian.

World number five Paolini came out all guns blazing to clinch a tight opening set in 54 minutes and then stepped up a gear to power ahead 3-0 in the next before sealing the win.