Darderi’s Title Hopes Fade: Rublev Celebrates in Bastad

No repeat victory in Bastad for Luciano Darderi. The Italian-Argentine tennis player was defeated in the Nordea Open final by Andrey Rublev and was unable to defend the title he won in Sweden in 2025. The Italian was knocked out in an hour and a quarter, with set scores of 6-4, 6-3.

For Rublev, this marks his second title in Bastad: a well-deserved victory, built on a solid serve and aggressive returns, against a Darderi who appeared tired compared to his previous matches. Rublev claimed his 18th career ATP title, his first since the Doha tournament in 2025; he had not won on clay since the 2024 Madrid Masters 1000.

The breaks secured by the Muscovite in the tenth game of the first set and the second game of the second set proved decisive for Darderi. The Italian can still take satisfaction from a well-played tournament, in which he defeated Altmaier, Borges, and Vallejo in that order over the past week.

His experience on grass this season, however, has been less fortunate. At Wimbledon, where he entered the draw as the No. 14 seed, Darderi was eliminated in the first round by American Ethan Quinn with a score of 7-6(7), 7-5, 6-2, confirming his struggles on this surface. This early exit came on the heels of his defeat in Mallorca, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Nuno Borges despite being the tournament’s top seed.