World No 1 Jannik Sinner moved into the Italian Open final against Casper Ruud after winning a rain-delayed semi-final against Daniil Medvedev, with the home favourite sealing a 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory.
Sinner extended his winning streak to 28 matches after digging deep on Friday before returning on Saturday following a late-night rain suspension to eventually battle past Medvedev.
Victory for Sinner in Rome will see the 24-year-old move alongside Novak Djokovic as the only other player to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 events for a Career Golden Masters.
"It was a very different challenge and a tough challenge," said Sinner, who has now gone 85 days since his last defeat, to Jakub Mensik in Doha.
"Usually, during the night, I don't struggle to sleep but this time it was not easy. You are in the third set, nearly done but you still have to show up again and you never know what is happening.
"It is like the start of the match as there are nerves again. I am very happy with how I handled this situation and that I back in the final."
Sinner opened the semi-final in front of a fervent Campo Centrale by playing perfect tennis - missing just three first serves in the first four games - before sealing the set in double-quick time.
It seemed unlikely Medvedev would be able to turn the match on its head until a drop in intensity from the Italian allowed his opponent to surge ahead with chances to increase his lead to 4-0. But Sinner hit back, despite looking ragged in between points.
The set appeared to be heading into a tie-break until Medvedev took advantage of a struggling Sinner, who struggled to catch his breath after points, bending over to try to recover several times, to force a decider.
It looked like Sinner's chase for his sixth consecutive ATP Masters 1000 title was in jeopardy when he called his medical team for cramps.
He then appeared rejuvenated and responded immediately â in the third, securing an early break to ignite the crowd and âseize control of the match.
Play was then halted with ârain pouring down in Rome and organisers later announced the match would resume on Saturday.
Returning to court 18 hours later, the Italian was on court for just 15 minutes.
Sinner held to love and then had two match points on Medvedev's serve. He was unable to finish the job on the 30-year-old's delivery but held his nerve on serve again to and secure his return to another ATP Masters 1000 final.
If he defeats Ruud on Sunday, the 24-year-old would become the first home champion in the Italian capital since Adriano Panatta lifted the trophy at the Foro Italico in 1976.
Ruud maintained his focus during a nearly two-hour rain delay to rout home player Luciano Darderi 6-1 6-1 and reach the final for the first time on Friday.
The match was suspended with Ruud leading 4-1 in the first set by a two-hour rain delay.
On resumption, the Norwegian won five of the next six points to wrap up the set before racing into a 4-0 lead in the second set and while Darderi provided some resistance on return, he was unable to take a break-point lifeline opportunity, with Ruud rolling onto victory.
The 20th-ranked Darderi, who was born in Argentina to a family of Italian descent, saved four match points in a three-set win over Alexander Zverev in the fourth round then won another marathon match against Spaniard Rafael Jodar in a quarter-final clash that ended at 2am.
"It feels great," Ruud said. "I am a bit sorry for Luciano, playing at home and not with the most energy, but it is understandable.
"What a tournament he has had and luckily for me I was done much earlier that day and had a little more time to recover. It is my 10th semi-final at a 1000 and his first, so you try to use that experience to your advantage and I think I did well today."
Ruud has reached two finals at the French Open, losing to Rafael Nadal in 2022 and Novak Djokovic in 2023.
Rome is the last big warm-up before the second Grand Slam of the year starts on Sunday, May 24.
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