Nicolas Jarry becomes first Chilean to reach a Masters 1000 final in 17 years

Nicolas Jarry claimed the biggest win of his career on Friday, defeating Tommy Paul 6-3 6-7(3) 6-3 in the Italian Open to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.

The Chilean, seeded 21st, is the first player from his country to reach a Masters 1000 final since Fernando Gonzalez in Rome in 2007. He will also move up in the world rankings to 17th.

"I think I played my best tennis. I gave it everything and went for it. I did that the whole match. It's hard to keep that level of concentration, but now I'm in the final," Jarry said.

Jarry produced a relentless display of power, hitting 13 aces and 35 winners from the baseline to dispatch Paul in two hours and 44 minutes.

"It was hard to enjoy it. I tried anyway. The important thing is that I came back with my best tennis in the third set and was aggressive. It's never easy to finish, but I did it and it's amazing the feeling I have now," Jarry added.

The 28-year-old, who beat sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals, will meet Germany's Alexander Zverev in the final on Sunday.

Zverev recovered from a slow start to beat Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 1-6 7-6(4) 6-2.

Zverev, who won the title in 2017 and reached the final the following year, looked in real danger when 29th seed Tabilo raced away with the opening set.

The 26-year-old, who beat world number one Novak Djokovic in the third round, was playing in his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, but did not look fazed as he broke Zverev twice in the first set.