Carlos Alcaraz stormed into his first Masters final in 13 months when he beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6 (2), 6-4 on Saturday, but not before his Spanish compatriot saved five match points in a gruelling encounter.

He will face Italian Lorenzo Musetti on the red clay in Sunday’s final after the 13th seed fought back to beat Australian eighth seed Alex de Minaur 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in the second semifinal.

Second seed Alcaraz found it difficult to break Davidovich Fokina, succeeding only three times in 19 attempts, and he also wasted three set points in an opening set that lasted over an hour.

Davidovich Fokina was imperious in his defensive game but Alcaraz lifted his service in the second set, in which he did not face a single break point.

“It’s been a long time,” Alcaraz said after reaching his first Masters final since he won at Indian Wells last year. “I just had to be patient and believe that this moment was going to come again. Sometimes the people are not patient, they want me to make the final in every tournament.”

The 21-year-old sealed the win with a sizzling forehand winner down the line to move into his first final in Monte Carlo.

The two shared a warm embrace at the net and a laugh before Alcaraz praised his compatriot. “I think I played really good tennis from the beginning until the last point,” Alcaraz added.

“I tried to take the chances he gave me in the match. He saved a lot of break points and match points, but I’m really happy… The most important thing is that I’m feeling great physically.”

Musetti outlasts De Minaur

Musetti, playing in his first Masters semifinal, seemed to suffer from nerves early on as he was broken by De Minaur in all four of his service games in the opening set.

But he settled down in the second set, grabbing a crucial break in the ninth game and successfully serving to force the match into a decider.

The 23-year-old got the better of a run of three consecutive breaks midway through the third set. Musetti, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, failed to serve out the match, though, as De Minaur levelled at 5-5.

But the Italian held his nerve in the tie-break, securing a place in the biggest final of his career so far on his first match point when De Minaur netted a forehand.