Luciano Darderi: The Canadian Dream Ends in the Quarterfinals

Luciano Darderi’s run at the Montreal Masters 1000 comes to an end in the quarterfinals. The Italian thus misses out on the chance to reach his first semifinal in a tournament of this category on hard courts, losing in two sets to American Brandon Nakashima with a score of 6-2, 6-3, at the end of a match that lasted one hour and 17 minutes.

It was a match in which the American dictated the pace from the very start, as the statistics also confirm. Nakashima fired 11 aces compared to Darderi’s mere 2, and Darderi also committed 6 double faults. The Italian’s performance on his second serve was particularly poor, with just 28% of points won. There was also a clear difference in winners (26 to 11 in Nakashima’s favor) and unforced errors (11 for the American versus 28 for Darderi).

The first set immediately turned into an uphill battle for the Italian. In the fourth game, Darderi was forced to face three consecutive break points. He managed to save the first two, but on the third, a forehand error handed Nakashima the advantage. The American conceded virtually nothing on his service games, and in the eighth game, he secured another love break that allowed him to close out the set 6-2.

In the second set, Darderi tried to fight back, and the start was decidedly more even. In the third game, the Italian earned a break point but squandered it with a backhand error. In the fifth game, he had two more chances to break Nakashima’s serve, but Nakashima managed to save them once again. Darderi didn’t give up and had another chance in the seventh game, but the American defended with his classic serve-and-forehand combination.

In the end, however, he suffered a bitter blow. In the eighth game, Darderi managed to fend off three break points, but on the fourth, he committed a double fault that handed Nakashima the decisive break. The American didn’t let the opportunity slip away and closed out the match 6-3, thus securing his spot in the semifinals.