Luciano Darderi: From Qualifying Rounds to ATP Title, a Special Victory

“I’m going to put it in the living room of my house so every morning when I get up I can see it. “It is a very special trophy because it is the first.” Luciano Darderi beat Facundo Bagnis yesterday in the final of the sixth edition of the Córdoba Open, won his first ATP title, got into the top 100 (he will appear today in 76th place in the ranking) and gave himself a birthday “gift”. .

The Argentine, nationalized Italian, will turn 22 the day after tomorrow (just on Valentine’s Day) and will celebrate with a very special title, in his third participation in an ATP tournament and reaching the decisive stage since qualifying (he played seven games, the same number as a Grand Slam finalist).

The result will add to the statistics (6/1, 6/4 will remain as the first of the six defining matches in the history of the Córdoba Open that is defined in two sets), but the ATP 250 that opens the tour on clay will remain in his memory as the one that allowed him to take the leap, and not just in quality.

Born in Villa Gesell, the new champion of the contest that was held at the Kempes Sports Complex, remarked after lifting the trophy the importance of winning at home. Although the Italian flag always appears next to his name, “Luli” is more Argentine than mate. He arrived in Córdoba a week before starting to play the qualifiers and yesterday he celebrated 14 days in the city. His PF (Federico Berruezo) is from Córdoba and the story seems to be round. “In Córdoba I felt very good, I hope there is Córdoba Open in 2025,” he expressed in the central court after winning the title, the first player to arrive at the Kempes Sports Center.

Luciano Darderi’s road to the Córdoba Open title

The kid who at the age of 12 decided to opt for Italian citizenship, to be able to take advantage of the benefits that the Federation of that country gave him and play the Interclubs in Europe, had a “tournament” in Córdoba. She got into the main draw after overcoming the qualification and the main draw broke her.

In the first round, being 136 in the world, he defeated the Chilean Tomás Barros Vera (105); In the round of 16 the first of his setbacks occurred, he eliminated the fourth seed in the tournament Sebastian Ofner (40). In the quarterfinals he beat the German Yannick Hanfmann (58) and in the semifinals he accounted for a top 30: the defending champion Sebastián Báez (25). Facundo Bagnis, his rival in yesterday’s final, was the only tennis player with a higher ranking than his whom he beat.

After this week at the ATP 250 in Cordoba, he will travel to Buenos Aires to play tomorrow in the Córdoba Open. On the bench, along with the rest of the work team, will be his father Gino, the one who has made him train the serve since he was little (the same one who yesterday in the final set the clock at 221 kilometers per hour) every day, all the time. . And as a play on words, his powerful serve was at the service of the game that allowed Darderi to claim champion for the first time on the ATP Tour.

The match against Facundo Bagnis, all his

The one between Darderi and Bagnis was the third final in the history of the ATP Tour between two players from the qualifying phase (also in Sydney 2015 and Kitzbühel 2018). The start was everything for the Italian on paper, but born in the province of Buenos Aires. “It took “Luli” 5 minutes to close the first set 6/1.

At 33 years old, Facundo Bagnis, the oldest Argentine tennis player to play in a final in the Open Era (since 1968), tried to fight and stop his rival’s momentum, but it was not enough. From being 0-2 down he went on to lead 3-2; and as if that were not enough, he came back from 0-40 that had him with an advantage several times, but the champion broke it and the 5-4 left the table set for him to feast on.

Early birthday celebration.

2024-02-12 13:00:00
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