Carlos Alcaraz is inching closer to his third title of the season as he reached the semifinals of the Italian Open and will face the home favorite Lorenzo Musetti. Except for his fourth-round match against Karen Khachanov, Alcaraz has not dropped a set.

Before the Italian Masters 1000, Alcaraz reached the championship matches of the two tournaments he played on clay. He denied Musetti his first Masters 1000 title by beating him in three sets in the Monte Carlo Masters final.

The four-time Grand Slam champion then entered Rome after playing the Barcelona Open final against Holger Rune. Alcaraz, because of his hamstring injury, had skipped the Madrid Open.

Before this season, he never progressed to the quarterfinals in Rome. Former ATP ace Tim Henman analyzed Alcaraz’s matches in the last European clay-court 1000 event and said that if the 22-year-old wants to achieve his Grand Slam double-digit tally, he needs to be more disciplined about his shot selection. He told Sky Sports:

The reality is that the best have good habits, no matter the event. With Alcaraz, we're in a conversation with [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal, and [Novak] Djokovic, and that's the small question mark. I love watching him play; he's absolutely brilliant, but he sometimes lacks discipline in his shot selection.

Alcaraz holds a 4-1 head-to-head lead over the 23-year-old. The lone victory the World No.9 secured was in their first encounter at the 2022 Hamburg European Open.

Laura Robson analyzes Carlos Alcaraz’s quarterfinal match against Jack Draper

Before reaching the semifinal, Carlos Alcaraz got his revenge on Jack Draper, the British ace who denied the Spaniard a chance to defend his Indian Wells title by beating him in the semifinals. It was Draper’s biggest title of his career.

After his win in Rome, Alcaraz improved his head-to-head record over the 23-year-old to 4-2. Former WTA player and Draper’s compatriot Laura Robson analyzed the match and pointed out where Alcaraz got the edge over the World No.5 during the match. She told Sky Sports:

It just felt like in the big moments, he was ever so slightly fresher with his footwork. That plays a huge part when you’ve got as many matches under your belt as Jack has, over the last three weeks, mentally you’re battling away, physically you’re battling away, and you just feel like you’ve got no energy to turn the tide.

Alcaraz, the winner of nine clay-court titles, had skipped the Italian Open last year due to an injury. He will start the next week as No.2, toppling Alexander Zverev, the defending champion in Rome, who got knocked out after Musetti beat in the quarterfinals.

Carlos Alcaraz could set up a clash with Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open final

If Alcaraz reaches the final and Sinner beats Tommy Paul, then the two rivals will set up a blockbuster showdown on Sunday. Alcaraz holds a 6-4 head-to-head lead over the three-time Grand Slam champion and won the last three matches they played against each other in the official events of the 2024 season.

Before setting up his fifth tour-level clash with Paul, Sinner produced his best performance in the tournament when he knocked out two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud 6-0, 6-1. Sinner, who skipped many tournaments due to his three-month doping ban, hasn’t yet lost a match since his defeat to Alcaraz in last year’s China Open final in October.

He is chasing his second title of the season after defending his Australian Open title by beating Alexander Zverev in January. At the Roland Garros this year, Alcaraz and Sinner will meet only if they reach the final as the former will be the second seed in the clay-court Major.