After a tumultuous second set and thrilling match-ending game, Nicolas Jarry prevailed against birthday boy Tommy Paul in a tense Friday semifinal at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia to advance to his first ATP Masters 1000 final.
In the last game, Jarry had a 40/0 lead, but Paul fought back to tie the score at two sets, forcing the Chilean to save two break points before sealing the win on his fifth match point, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3 in two hours and forty-three 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 play Alexander Zverev in the championship match on Sunday.
The 6’7″ monster Chilean opened the match with a bang, controlling play with intimidating forehands that put Paul on the defensive. Paul was able to re-enter the match in the second set thanks to Jarry’s 24 unforced errors, proving that reward does not always follow risk.
But halfway through the third set, Jarry’s aggressive play paid off when he smashed a crosscourt backhand return deep, giving the Chilean a crucial break for 4-2 and drawing a retreating Paul into error. But as Jarry discovered in the thrilling match’s last game, it was anything but easy sailing to the end.
According to Reports, Jarry concluded the match with 33 winners and 49 unforced errors. “It’s in those moments that I play my best tennis,” Jarry said. “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…”
Since Fernando Gonzalez, the former No. 5 seed, was runner-up in the Eternal City in 2007, Jarry is the first Chilean to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final. According to TDI Insights, Jarry spent 30% of the match in offensive positions (compared to Paul’s 22%).
In the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Jarry, who is currently 16-11 for the season, sits at a career-high No. 17. When he faces third seed and two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev on Sunday, the three-time tour winner will be going for his biggest career trophy. In their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, the German is ahead of Jarry 4-2.
