Luciano Darderi secured his first Top 20 victory and advanced to the final of the Nordea Open in Bastad after defeating Francisco Cerundolo. The Italian tennis player won 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3) in a challenging match that featured 11 breaks of serve. This win marks Darderi’s third tour-level championship appearance.
“Playing against Francisco is always very tough,” said Darderi during his on-court interview. “Today I played an amazing match, but in front of me I had one of the best players in the world.”
Darderi faced difficulties as he was broken twice in both the second and early third sets but managed to rally back for a comeback victory. His two-hour and 34-minute triumph allowed him to avenge earlier defeats to Cerundolo this year and equal their head-to-head record at 2-2.
Jesper de Jong will be Darderi’s opponent in Sunday’s final. De Jong defeated Camilo Ugo Carabelli with a score of 6-3, 7-6(3), earning his place in his first ATP Tour title match. The Dutchman’s performance has boosted him to No. 83 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
“It’s better than my coach because he was a semi-finalist here in 2013,” De Jong joked about his coach Thiemo de Bakker during his on-court interview. “I’m very happy to be in my first ATP final.”