Luciano Darderi lights up the night at the Foro Italico. He wins a battle that lasts over three hours, ending at 2 a.m., and advances to the semifinals of the Internazionali d'Italia .
The Italian-Argentine defeated rising Spanish star Rafael Jodar in three sets, 7-6, 5-7, 6-0 . This was another excellent victim for Darderi, who had already defeated underdogs Tommy Paul and Alexander Zverev.
A dramatic match at times, also interrupted by the smoke that invaded the Centrale del Foro during Inter's Coppa Italia celebrations.
Darderi wins a hard-fought first set 7-6, then takes a 3-0 lead and wastes two break points to make it 4-0 in the second. Jodar comes back, saves two match points, and wins the second set 7-5 .
But the Italian, who seemed to have no more energy, didn't give up, and the start of the third set proved decisive: Darderi first held serve and then broke at the end of a seemingly endless game that lasted over a quarter of an hour. At this point, he regained his energy and confidence, and it was the young Spaniard who collapsed, ending the match with cramps and never winning another game. At 2 a.m., after more than three hours of battle, Darderi finished the match in front of a crowd that was half-deserved but euphoric with his feat. In the semifinals, his first in a Masters 1000, he faced the Norwegian Casper Ruud .
At 1pm it's Jannik Sinner's turn, who faces Andrei Rublev in the quarterfinals.
(Unioneonline/L)