The penultimate round of the Serie A campaign promises an intriguing fight for places in next season’s Champions League, but a fixture scheduling stand-off between the league and local authorities left clubs and supporters in limbo until an agreement was finally reached.

Serie A rules require teams competing for the same objective to play simultaneously on the final two match days, and on Monday, the organisers scheduled the five decisive fixtures for Sunday at 12.30pm (CET).

The Rome derby is among them, and with the Italian Tennis Open men’s final taking place on Sunday at the Foro Italico, next door to the Stadio Olimpico, the early kick-off was chosen to avoid security complications.

Rome’s Prefect, however, disagreed and on Tuesday ordered the AS Roma-Lazio game moved to Monday night. Serie A officials appealed to the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio, but the court declined to rule and instead invited the parties to reach an agreement.

A decision was made late on Thursday to schedule the games for 12pm on Sunday, with a unified security coordination put in place to cover both the Rome derby and the tennis.

Five points divide five clubs, with three spots available in Europe’s top club competition — champions Inter Milan are the only side assured of their place — with those who miss out heading for the Europa League.

Napoli are second on 70 points, two ahead of Juventus, with AC Milan and Roma a further point back. Como, sixth on 65 points, have already secured European football for the first time and remain in contention for a top-four finish.

Last season’s champions Napoli know a win at already-relegated Pisa would secure their spot, but Antonio Conte’s side is making hard work of the run-in. They lost 3-2 at home to Bologna on Monday and have won one of their last five games.

Milan is another side stuttering to the finish line, with one win in six, allowing in-form Juventus and Roma right back into the mix. Milan also suffered a 3-2 home defeat against Atalanta last time out and faces an away trip to Genoa.

Juventus, on a 10-game unbeaten run, will be expected to take all three points when they host Fiorentina, while Roma hosts a Lazio side still smarting from a Coppa Italia final loss to Inter.

The fireworks after Wednesday’s final at the Stadio Olimpico created havoc with the tennis, where play was halted after the smoke reduced visibility and knocked out the electronic line-calling system.

Football and tennis are set for another collision, and with half the league’s clubs involved in the chaos, team preparations were left up in the air as well.

“If it’s on Monday, I’ll come, on Sunday at 12:30 I won’t,” Lazio manager Maurizio Sarri said after the final defeat.

“The Prefect has been clear, so let’s hope that’s the date. If I were the club president, I wouldn’t even send the team out.”

Double winners Inter host Serie B-bound Hellas Verona on Sunday, but the relegation fight will provide the weekend’s other drama, with three teams battling to avoid the final drop spot.

Cremonese are third from bottom on 31 points and are away to Udinese. Lecce, one point ahead, are at Sassuolo, while Cagliari, on 37 points, need a draw at home to Torino to confirm safety.

Gauff into final, Sinner into semis

Across the road on the court in Rome, third seed Coco Gauff surged into her second consecutive Italian Open final on Thursday, overcoming Romanian Sorana Cîrstea 6-4 6-3.

The win earned the 22-year-old American her second WTA 1000 final appearance this year following her runner-up finish to Aryna Sabalenka in Miami in March.

Gauff struggled early on as Cîrstea raced into a 4-2 lead, but the world number four shifted gears and took command of the match by winning four games in a row to take the opening set.

She twice secured breaks, only for Cîrstea to fight back each time. However, Gauff claimed a decisive break in the eighth game and held serve to seal the win in a match that lasted a little over one hour.

The straight-sets victory ended a taxing run for Gauff, who had navigated three consecutive three-set matches to reach the semi-finals, including a narrow escape against compatriot Iva Jovic.

Cîrstea, who plans to retire later this year, exits having delivered the shock of the tournament by stunning world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s third round.

Gauff’s victory was her third over the 36-year-old Cîrstea this year, following previous wins in Miami and Madrid.

“I think I learned a little bit more from each match,” said Gauff during her on-court interview. 

“Those are the matches you get through … I’m really grateful to be in the final.”

Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner continued his ominous form ahead of the French Open as the Italian world number one set a record with his 32nd consecutive Masters 1000 victory, brushing aside Russia’s Andrey Rublev 6-2 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.

Sinner has now moved clear of Novak Djokovic’s record and set his sights on further milestones. Djokovic remains the only man to have won all nine Masters 1000 events — a feat Sinner could match if he goes on to lift the title on home soil in Rome.

“I don’t play for records. I play just for my own story,” Sinner said. 

“At the same time, it means a lot to me, but tomorrow is another opponent. We’re going to play in different conditions — it’s going to be a night match.

“Now the highest priority for me is trying to recover as much as I can physically. We’ll see how it goes.

“Emotionally, it takes a lot to play here at home. At the same time, I’ll definitely try to do my best. It’s a win-win situation for me in any case. It was a good day today.”

Reuters