Red-hot Schwartzman tops Shapovalov to set up Rome finale with Djokovic

Argentine Diego Schwartzman has reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final, beating Canada's Denis Shapovalov in the Italian Open semifinals on Sunday in Rome.

Schwartzman, who upset nine-time Italian Open champ Rafael Nadal on Saturday, needed three hours and 15 minutes to outlast Shapovalov 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (4).

Shapovalov served for the match up 5-4 in the third set before recording an eighth double-fault to trail by a mini-break in the tiebreaker.

World No. 15 Schwartzman will feature in the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career if he wins the Italian Open, where he'll face Novak Djokovic in the final.

Djokovic progressed to the finals after bouncing unseeded Norwegian Casper Ruud earlier Sunday, 7-5, 6-3.

The Serbian saved a pair of set points in the opening frame before hitting his stride to reach his 10th finals in Rome. Djokovic, who was defaulted from the US Open for striking a lineswoman with a ball two weeks ago, is on track to claim his 36th ATP Masters crown to overtake Nadal on the all-time list.

The Italian Open serves as a clay court tune-up for the French Open, with qualifiers set to kick off Monday at Roland Garros in Paris after the contest was rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic.