Luciano Darderi Throws in the Towel; No More Italians at the U.S. Open
There are no longer any Italians left in the men’s singles draw at the U.S. Open. Luciano Darderi, the last remaining player in a tournament that, as is well known, began without world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, was in fact defeated by Alexander Zverev.
The German, seeded No. 1 in the draw precisely because of the South Tyrolean’s absence, prevailed with a score of 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) in the round of 16. After struggling in his first two matches, both of which went to five sets, Zverev never really faced any trouble against Darderi, who was overwhelmed by 42 winners and had only one break point (which he failed to convert) throughout the match. The winner of the most recent Roland Garros will now face Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp, ranked 70th in the world, in the quarterfinals.
Darderi had secured his spot in the round of 16 by defeating Dane Sweeny—the Australian who had surprised a battered Lorenzo Musetti in New York—without much trouble. The second set proved particularly decisive; he started by losing his serve to his opponent in the second game but managed to break back in the fifth and ninth games. The day’s action for the Italians was marked by the elimination of Flavio Cobolli, the No. 5 seed, who was defeated in four sets by Belgian Alexander Blockx with a score of 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0, 6-3.
Darderi’s path to the round of 16 was by no means without obstacles. The Italian-Argentine made his debut by defeating Britain’s Harry Wendelken in four sets (6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5) on a court made slippery by rain, finishing with 15 aces and 147 total points won. In the second round, he then had to battle for over three hours against Czech player Dalibor Svrcina, ranked 134th in the ATP rankings, in a tense and hard-fought match in which both players broke their rackets and Svrcina himself racked up a whopping 20 double faults.
The overall picture of the tournament remains that of a particularly wide-open draw, especially due to the absence of Jannik Sinner, the world No. 1 and defending champion from 2024. The South Tyrolean is undergoing rehabilitation for inflammation in the tendons of his right knee, with the goal of returning to competition in late September in Beijing.
