Luciano Darderi does not stop Carlos Alcaraz but can smile

Luciano Darderi failed to beat world number 2 Carlos Alcaraz on the’Arthur Ashe Stadium but he can be satisfied with how his 2025 is going.

“I have already had all the important experiences: the Olympics, the Slams, the ATP tournaments. The first time on this court I will never forget, I hope it is not the last. I hope I can play many more times”.

“I was always a little tense and struggling, partly because Carlos plays at a higher speed, he is always on top of the ball and never gives you time to breathe. That’s what I found most difficult today – he commented –I expected such a match, I knew I would have few chances, plus with my serve I was quite tense and I served badly almost the whole match. Only in the second set did I have a couple of balls on the four-all to break. He was always superior though, I still miss many such matches. It was the first time on this court, and honestly I was never comfortable”.

The balance remains positive: “Of course, it could have happened to me someone else, but to get to the third round is not bad. I did mine and I am happy. I will keep working to get closer and next time I hope to get to play maybe four or five sets, and to manage the tension better because on these stadiums everything goes very fast. With these players you have to be very focused and if you are not at 120 percent you risk bad figures. Fortunately, today was not so bad”.