Jarry surges into Rome final after nail-biting win over Paul

Nicolas Jarry has recovered from a wild second set and epic final game of the match to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final, defeating birthday boy Tommy Paul in an intense Friday semi-final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Jarry led 40/0 in the final game only to see Paul claw his way back to deuce and ultimately force the Chilean to fight off two break points before closing out the victory on his fifth match point, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3 in two hours, 43 minutes.

“I was pleased with how I came back with my aggressive tennis in the third set. To finish the match is never easy, but I made it through and it’s an amazing feeling,” said Jarry, who will face Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.

As expected, the 6’7” powerhouse Chilean came out swinging freely, dictating play with fearsome forehands that set Paul on the backfoot in the opener. But reward doesn’t always follow risk and Jarry’s 24 unforced errors in the second set allowed Paul back into the match.

But Jarry’s aggression was vindicated midway through the third set when he ripped a crosscourt backhand return deep that drew a retreating Paul into error and handed the Chilean a decisive break for 4-2. However, it was far from smooth sailing to the finish line, as Jarry learned in the dramatic final game of the match.

“It’s in those moments that I play my best tennis,” said Jarry, who finished the match with 33 winners and 49 unforced errors according to Infosys ATP Stats. “That’s when I got for it and if it goes in, amazing, if it doesn’t then you give it up. I try to be like that throughout the whole match. It’s difficult to maintain that level constantly, but I’m I the final, so…”

Jarry, who spent 30 per cent of the match in attacking positions (compared to Paul's 22 per cent) according to TDI Insights, is the first Chilean to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final since 2007, when former No. 5 Fernando Gonzalez finished runner-up in the Eternal City.

Now 16-11 on the season, Jarry is up to a career-high No. 17 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The three-time tour-level will aim for his biggest career trophy on Sunday, when he goes against third seed and two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Zverev. The German leads Jarry 4-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Celebrating his 27th birthday, Paul dropped to 0-3 in Masters 1000 semi-finals (Indian Wells 2024, Toronto 2023).

Rinse and Repeat ♻️🎾

Another big serving and high #InAttack performance from @NicoJarry 🔥#InAttack shows the percentage of shots played in attack#TennisInsights | @atptour | @InteBNLdItalia pic.twitter.com/83xDAWHdnd

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) May 17, 2024