Roland Garros: Luciano Darderi gets off to a strong start despite the great heat

Luciano Darderi did not disappoint in his Roland Garros debut: the Italo-Argentinian tennis player, world number 17, overcame Austrian Sebastian Ofner, currently ranked number 112 in the ATP rankings, three sets to nil in the first round. Darderi, fresh from the quarterfinals of the Hamburg tournament and the semifinals in Rome, despite the great heat easily won with the partials of 7-6, 6-2, 6-3, qualifying for the second round of the Paris Slam.

The match was complicated only in the first partial, when Ofner with his backhand put the Azzurro in great difficulty, who still managed to prevail at the tie-break. In the following sets Darderi showed great physical form and overwhelmed the Austrian, who was no longer able to regain the brilliance of the first games and succumbed 6-2, 6-3. The Italo-Argentine also overcame the obstacle of the scorching weather: during the changes of court he often cooled down with an ice bag.

Darderi, who in the second round will face the winner of the match between the American Quinn and the Argentine Comesana, has never managed to reach the third round in Paris: in 2024 he had gone out in the second game against Tallon Griekspoor, while in 2025 he was immediately eliminated by Sebastian Korda. But this is a whole different Darderi, ambitious and in the best form of his career.

The Italo-Argentine’s golden moment is also confirmed by the ATP ranking numbers: in the latest update of the world rankings, Darderi is ranked 17th, the result of a leap of four positions that rewards the continuity of results gathered in recent weeks on clay. A path of steady growth that has led him to be one of the fittest Italian tennis players on the circuit, behind only Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti and Flavio Cobolli in the special Italian ranking.