
World number five Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the Italian Open final for the first time after the Greek rallied to defeat Alexander Zverev 4-6 6-3 6-3 on Saturday.
Tsitsipas, who will rise to fourth in the new ATP rankings next week, will need to beat either top-ranked Novak Djokovic or Norwegian fifth seed Casper Ruud to claim his third Masters 1000 title.
In the third claycourt Masters 1000 semi-final between the pair this season, Tsitsipas overcame Zverev as he stayed consistent from the baseline and strong on serve throughout.
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Zverev was clinical in the opening set with his first serve working like clockwork, but the German dropped a set for the first time in this year`s tournament as Tsitsipas raised his own level in the second set.
Tsitsipas struck first in the decider, earning a break to lead 3-2 when Zverev sent a forehand into the net.
Tsitsipas broke the Zverev serve again to eventually claim a comfortable victory as the German`s game went off the boil. He now has a Tour-leading 31 match wins this year and leads his head-to-head against Zverev 8-4.
Defeat meant Zverev is yet to win a title this season.