Sunday's Rome Masters final gathered the world's finest players and the most prominent youngsters on the Tour. The title clash between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz was not a simple battle for one of the most prestigious clay-court titles.

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.

Carlos Alcaraz silenced the home crowd and halted Jannik Sinner’s bid for a title on his return with a clinical 7-6(5), 6-1 victory in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday, capturing his seventh ATP Masters 1000 title in the process.