Italian tennis legend and 1976 French Open champion Adriano Panatta suggests the outcome of the Rome Masters would have been much different if Jannik Sinner hadn't had three months "unfairly taken away from him.

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.