Jannik Sinner wins and watches Laila Hasanovic smiling in the stands.

Mission accomplished: Jannik Sinner restarted more focused than ever and gained access to the final of the Internazionali d’Italia in Rome by overcoming Daniil Medvedev 6-4 in the third set. The combative Russian nullified two match points for the Azzurro, who was, however, relentless at the serve: now the sixth consecutive Masters 1000 is really possible.

After the deciding point, Sinner, finally relaxed, smiled and looked toward the grandstand, where his family was and also his girlfriend Laila Hasanovic, who responded in turn with a smile: the Danish model, who showed up for the first time at the Foro Italico on Friday evening, did not want to miss the resumption of the match on Saturday afternoon either and confirmed her role as a good luck charm for the world number one.

Friday evening had been anything but easy for the Blue, who had experienced cramps and a general state of discomfort, appearing in great pain even during court changes. The tension had reached such levels that his mother Siglinde had been forced to leave the Center Court after the second set, too overcome with emotion. Left in the stands were his father Hanspeter, brother Mark and girlfriend Laila Hasanovic.

In the final Sinner will face Norway’s Casper Ruud. Winning would mean winning the Internazionali d’Italia for the first time as an Italian since Adriano Panatta, who succeeded back in 1976. Panatta himself, interviewed by Gazzetta dello Sport, wanted to frame the qualities of the world number one: “Sinner’s strength is not only technical: compared to all the others, he manages to maintain a very high continuity of performance much longer. Sure, he too sometimes plays at 60-70%, but how long does it last him? A few games, maybe a set, but eventually he comes back hammering and wins, even when he’s tired.”