ROME >> Jasmine Paolini took advantage of the crowd’s support and beat Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 to become the first home player to win the Italian Open in 40 years on Saturday.

With top-ranked Jannik Sinner to play Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s final on Sunday, Italy could earn its first sweep of the Rome singles titles.

The last Italian woman to win the open was Raffaella Reggi in 1985 in Taranto. The last local man to raise the trophy was Adriano Panatta in 1976.

When Paolini hit a big serve down the T on her second championship point and Gauff couldn’t get it back, Paolini celebrated with a big smile and raised her arms as she spun around in joy.

Paolini and partner Sara Errani are also in the women’s doubles final and will play Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens for that trophy on Sunday.

With the country’s tennis boom in full force, Italy President Sergio Mattarella attended the woman’s final at the Foro Italico.

The fifth-ranked Paolini was the runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon and led Italy to the Billie Jean King Cup title last year. She and Errani also won gold in doubles at the Paris Olympics.

Paolini will move up to No. 4 in the rankings on Monday, which will improve her position in the draw for the French Open starting next weekend.

Baseball

Last-place Orioles fire manager Brandon Hyde after falling 13 games under .500 >> Baltimore fired manager Brandon Hyde after a dismal start to the season by a team coming off two consecutive playoff appearances.

The Orioles are 15-28 and in last place in the AL East following a loss to Washington on Friday night. Hyde guided the team through an extensive rebuild and won manager of the year honors in 2023, but Baltimore’s performance slipped noticeably during the second half of last year, and the Orioles have put themselves in a significant hole so far in 2025.

College football

ACC revenues and payouts climbed in 2023-24. So too did legal bills amid FSU, Clemson lawsuits >> The Atlantic Coast Conference set league records for revenue and member payouts yet also had a growing legal bill amid since-settled lawsuits from members Clemson and Florida State, according to the league’s most recent tax filing.

The 990 tax form covering the 2023-24 season reported the league’s revenue increased to about $711.4 million, up slightly from $706.6 million a year earlier. That allowed the ACC to pay an average of nearly $45 million to its 14 football-playing members — Louisville ($46.4 million) and FSU ($46.3 million) had the highest hauls — while Notre Dame made $20.7 million for its partial share as a football independent.

NBA

Nuggets forward Gordon remains questionable for Game 7 at OKC due to left hamstring strain >> Denver went through a walkthrough practice session with Aaron Gordon. They went over the game plan as if Gordon was an integral part of it.

Now, they wait.

The high-flying forward will be a game-time decision due to a strained left hamstring as the Nuggets prepare to face the top-seeded Thunder in Oklahoma City on Sunday in Game 7.

Golden State standout Stephen Curry suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain in the Warriors’ second-round series with Minnesota and was sidelined for at least a week. He didn’t make it back before the Warriors were knocked out of the postseason.