Analyzing the challenge for 'Sky Sports', former British ace Tim Henman confessed that Paul should have had more courage: ”I wonder because he was so successful in the first set, winning it 6-1, he really did not come forward much at all. He stayed back in the rallies and was patient and if anything waited for unforced errors from Sinner.”

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.