Jannik Sinner will face Casper Ruud in the men's final of the Italian Open after finishing off Daniil Medvedev in Saturday's closing chapter of an enthralling last-four clash, which was paused overnight due to rain in Rome.

The World No. 1 could claim a record-extending sixth Masters 1000 title on Sunday thanks to a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win which had almost everything over the course of its two-and-a-half hours.

Sinner had to have treatment on his right thigh and even vomited during Friday night's leg of the semi-final as Medvedev gave the Italian by far his toughest test of the tournament.

But he looked in much better spirits before the restart as he joked and played football with his coaching team during his warm-up in the bowels of the centre court arena, just as warm spring sunshine started to shine after a few days of volatile weather.

"I struggled a bit to sleep this night. It has been a situation I haven't been in yet, where you need to finish when you're nearly over with the match. You sleep, you don't know what's coming out the next day," Sinner told reporters.

"I think it's normal that not every day we feel 100 percent. I tried to play with the best possible energy I have. Yesterday brought me to a point where I was up today. Today I'm very happy that I finished it."

The match was scheduled to restart at 3pm local time (1300GMT) but was again delayed by an hour both due to more rain and the men's doubles semi-final, won by Sinner's compatriots Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori. (AFP)


Edited by Tony Sabine