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.

Baseball

Orioles fire manager >> 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.

Third base coach Tony Mansolino will serve as interim manager. The Orioles also fired major league field coordinator/catching instructor Tim Cossins.\

College football

ACC revenues climbed in 2023-24. So too did legal bills >> 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.

Those figures don’t reflect the arrivals of California, Stanford and SMU as new members to push the league to 18 schools for the 2024-25 season. Nor does it include the “success initiative” championed by commissioner Jim Phillips that went into effect this season for schools to keep more money generated by their own postseason success.