Australian Open 2025 pain and misfortune: withdrawal for Luciano Darderi

The Australian adventure ends in the most bitter way possible.
Luciano Darderi drops out of the Australian Open after just two sets. The 22-year-old Italian è in fact forced to forfeit during the match against Spaniard Pedro Martinez due to insurmountable physical problems. After a real trickle and a non-resolving medical timeout, the withdrawal came at 6-3, 4-1 in favor of his opponent.
That it is a difficult day for him is clear from the start, as Darderi immediately loses the serve twice finding himself down 3-0 early in the first set. He seemed to recover with the break that earned him the 3-1 point, but lost his serve again in the ninth game allowing Martinez to take the set in just over half an hour.
The second set opened along the lines of the first, with Martinez taking a 3-0 lead and Darderi clearly having to fight not only against his opponent. This is made clear at 2-0, when on the sidelines of another game lost to a break by his opponent he indulges in discouragement and throws his racket to the ground. The only game of the set comes right after the medical timeout, then the blue 2002 class realizes he just can't make it and abandons the match.
Decisive for him were some bumps in his right shoulder or ribs, as evidenced also by the frequent coughing fits that marked his unfortunate spell at the Australian Open 2025 in Melbourne. Concluded, stopwatch in hand, already in the first round after just one hour and 12 minutes of play.