Inter beat rivals AC Milan 1-0 in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday to book a spot in the final after a 3-0 aggregate win. This is the first appearance in the final for the team that had won the title in 2010.
In tennis, Novak Djokovic got to his 17th Italian Open quarterfinal after a fiesty win over Cameron Norrie, while Iga Swiatek also continued her run in the event.
Here’s a look at the key stories from international sporting events through the day for 17 May, 2023:
Inter Milan reach Champions League final
Inter Milan reached their first Champions League final for 13 years as Lautaro Martinez’s sole goal of the match gave them a 3-0 aggregate win against AC Milan on Tuesday.
Inter will undoubtedly be the underdogs against either Real Madrid or Manchester City in Istanbul on June 10, but the way they managed both legs of this all-Milan tie suggests they will be hard to beat.
The key moment of the night at the San Siro came when Argentinian Martinez exchanged passes with substitute Romelu Lukaku and drilled a shot from inside the penalty area that Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan allowed in at his near post.
Martinez, Inter’s captain, hailed the cohesion of his team over the two matches against their city rivals.
“What counts is the squad. I experienced it at the World Cup (with Argentina),” he said.
“It makes it easy if you have a united squad with everyone pulling in the same direction. It means you get to play these very important matches in the best possible way.”
He added: “After winning the World Cup and experiencing what is the pinnacle for a player I knew we could reach this final, and we did it.”
His goal effectively killed off the tie.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said: “It’s a dream come true. We always believed we could do it, we have had an extraordinary journey (to the final).
“What pleased me? Everything. The running, the determination, the concentration... they were very good.”
Facing Inzaghi’s men will be either Manchester City or record 14-time winners Real Madrid, with that semi-final finely poised at 1-1 ahead of Wednesday’s decider at City’s Etihad Stadium.
“We’re going to have to give it our all,” Martinez said.
Milan’s coach Stefano Pioli was left to contemplate a harsh ending to “a terrific” run to the last four.
“It’s normal to be disappointed after losing in the semi-final, especially in a derby.
“The players gave their all in both legs but Inter deserved it. They played better than us, winning both matches.
“Given our journey and what we’ve done over the past three years it would have been fabulous to get to the final. But we didn’t make it, that’s a massive disappointment.”
Djokovic through to Rome quarters
Novak Djokovic eased into the Italian Open quarterfinals on Tuesday after breezing past Cameron Norrie although there was tension with the Briton after the top seed was hit by a smash.
While Djokovic dispatched Norrie 6-3, 6-4, Monte Carlo Masters winner Andrey Rublev and home hope Jannik Sinner both crashed out in Rome.
Djokovic had reached the last eight in each of his previous 16 appearances in the Italian capital and he did it again, getting past Norrie on centre court to set up a clash with Holger Rune in a tournament which is a key warmup for the French Open.
It will be a rematch of last year’s Paris Masters final, when the 20-year-old Dane won his first Masters 1000 title by beating Djokovic in a thrilling match.
In the second set, Norrie angered Djokovic with a smash which hit him on the back of his the Serb’s leg.
Norrie had the whole court to put the ball away as Djokovic had given up on the point and was walking back to the service line.
The Briton raised his hand to apologise but at the changeover after Norrie moved to 3-2, Djokovic gave him another long stare as he passed him.
And after Djokovic sealed victory with his second match point he gave Norrie a cursory handshake at the net, while avoiding eye contact and without exchanging a single word with his dispatched opponent.
Other results
Third seed Daniil Medvedev came through 6-2, 7-6 (3) against Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud dispatched Laslo Djere, and Croatian Borna Coric prevailed in three sets over Fabian Marozsan, the Hungarian outsider who shocked Carlos Alcaraz in the third round.
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 7-6 (3) in a third-round match which was suspended on Monday due to the rain to set up a meeting with another Italian, Lorenzo Musetti.
Rublev, seeded six, was upset 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3 by the world’s 101-ranked player, German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann.
And Italian eighth seed Sinner was sent packing by Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2.
In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek took her Rome winning streak to 14 matches with a 6-3, 6-4 success over Donna Vekic.
World No 1 Swiatek will take on Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals after coming through the toughest match of her tournament so far.
Collated results on Tuesday from the ATP/WTA Italian Open in Rome (x denotes seeding, players representing Russia and Belarus are banned from competing under the name or flag of their countries):
Men’s singles third round
Alexander Zverev (GER x19) bt J.J. Wolf (USA) 6-4, 7-5
Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE x5) bt Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) 6-3, 7-6 (7/3)
Lorenzo Musetti (ITA x18) bt Frances Tiafoe (USA x12) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
Men’s singles fourth round
Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Cameron Norrie (GBR x13) 6-3, 6-4
Holger Rune (DEN x7) bt Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Casper Ruud (NOR x4) bt Laslo Djere (SRB) 6-1, 6-3
Francisco Cerundolo (ARG x24) bt Jannik Sinner (ITA x8) 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-2
Yannick Hanfmann (GER) bt Andrey Rublev (x6) 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3
Daniil Medvedev (x3) bt Alexander Zverev (GER x19) 6-2, 7-6 (7/3)
Borna Coric (CRO x15) bat Fabian Marozsan (HUN) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Women’s singles fourth round
Iga Swiatek (POL x1) bt Donna Vekic (CRO x21) 6-3, 6-4
Paula Badosa (ESP) bt Karolína Muchova (CZE) 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2
Women’s singles quarterfinals
Veronika Kudermetova (x11) bt Zheng Qinwen (CHN x22) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Anhelina Kalinina (UKR x30) bt Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA x12) 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (8/6), 6-3
With text inputs from AFP
Updated through the day
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