The Italian-Argentine doesn’t have the energy to play on par with the Norwegian who wins the final at the Foro Italico
Luciano Darderi he didn’t make it to the final of the Rome Internationals. His dream vanished against Casper Ruud on an afternoon in which the Italian-Argentine tennis player never managed to play his tennis. Luciano’s great pride was not enough, Darderi paid for the tiredness of the epic marathons against Zverev and Jodar. Five and a half hours on the pitch and above all the long night on Wednesday with Darderi on the pitch until two in the morning against Jodar. Yesterday’s rest day wasn’t enough to recover energy, especially because the level has risen and Ruud on clay is a tough nut to crack. So today, in another match divided into two – this time due to bad weather – the outcome was inexorable: 6-1 6-1 in an hour and five minutes of play. Luciano will be number 16 in the world on Monday, improving his best ranking by two positions. For Ruud this is a sort of rebirth. Already number 2 in the world in 2022, he was then eclipsed. In recent months, after her marriage and the birth of her daughter at age 27, she has launched a second career. Starting from number 25 in the tournament, the live ranking now sees him in 17th position.
The match
It is immediately clear that it is not a good day for Darderi, the start of the game is shocking: Luciano concedes the first six points, suffers an 8-1 run and finds himself down 0-2. He seems to loosen up and find depth in his shots, but the counterbreak is just an illusion. The legs don’t turn, the gratuitous errors are many, while on the other side of the net Casper Ruud is solid and concedes very little on serve (65% of first serves with 82% of points won in the first set). At 4-1 and Ruud ahead, with Darderi serving, the interruption came due to rain. It resumes after two hours, but Ruud is concentrated and precise, while Darderi is too foul. The first half ends 6-1et. Same music in the second, Ruud takes the lead to 4-1 and Darderi proudly tries to reopen the match but runs poorly, perhaps he has cramps and is unable to move on the pitch as needed. Ruud finishes 6-1, the Roman public greets Darderi with great applause. However, it was a wonderful tournament and at just 24 years old the dream of winning in Rome has only been postponed.
