After serving a three-month doping suspension, the world No. 1 returned to action at his home tournament in Rome. And after a couple of solid wins and then very notable victories over Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul, the Italian tennis star making a dream comeback looked like a very realistic scenario.

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.

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.