Luciano Darderi in the final in Baastad

Luciano Darderi, world number 55, qualified for the final of the ATP 250 clay court event in Baastad, the Swedish Open, beating Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo, number 20 and the tournament’s number 1 seed, 6-2 3-6 7-6 in over two and a half hours of play.

In the first set Darderi immediately goes up 2-0, gets caught up at 2-2, and then strung together four consecutive games that earned him the partial. Almost mirroring the trend in the second set, it is Cerundolo who goes to 2-0 and is caught up at 2-2, in the fifth game he saves a break point and then on 4-3 he operates the break that proves decisive to lengthen the match.

The first two games of the set were played by Cerundolo.

Two breaks in the first two games of the third set, then Cerundolo stretches to 4-2 but Darderi catches up with him at 4-4 by snatching the serve at zero and then saves a very dangerous break ball at 5-5. It goes to the tie-break, in which Darderi flies to 4-1 and then wins it 7-3.

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For Darderi this is her third final on the major circuit, the other two, both on clay, she won, in Cordoba in 2024 and Marrakech this year. Tomorrow he will face Dutchman Jesper De Jong, world No. 106, who beat Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-3 7-6.