Home favorite Lorenzo Musetti bowed out in the Rome Masters semi-final following a 6-3, 7-6 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. Playing in front of a passionate home crowd at Foro Italico, Musetti admitted he struggled to stay positive.

Carlos Alcaraz beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6(4) in a sloppy duel Friday afternoon at the Foro Italico. He will face the winner of the second semifinal between Jannik Sinner and Tommy Paul in Sunday’s final.

Surpassing his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Alcaraz (22y 2d) is the second-youngest player to reach the final at three ATP Masters 1000 events on clay, older than only Rafael Nadal (20y 345d, Ham