Alexander Zverev faced a really tricky opponent at the 2024 Italian Open in Luciano Darderi, who had the crowd backing him, but it wasn't enough.
Darderi came out of nowhere this year with some special performances at the Golden Swing, where he won his maiden trophy in Argentina. The Italian was actually born in Argentina and lived there for a while before moving with his family to Italy, where he still lives.
He played spectacular tennis this week, winning some notable matches, but facing Zverev was a bit too much. The Germa, who isn't a fan of a new two-week ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, is very good on clay, which is something that a lot of people forget about him.
Had he not injured himself against Rafael Nadal, he might have won the Roland Garros a couple of years ago; that's how well he played. He showed just how good he can be also in this match, especially considering the crowd was heavily against him.
Darderi is a very good clay-court players; that's why he took Zverev to the tie-break in the opening set. The Italian's problem was mostly his ability to assert himself.
He generally plays aggressive tennis and likes to attack, but Zverev overmatched him from the baseline. The German had twice as many winners in that opening set and didn't allow a single break point.
Darderi saved the only one he allowed but was beaten 7-3 in the tie-break. Once he found an opening, Zverev was able to take over completely. Darderi couldn't really keep up the solid play in the second set, as he started to miss a bit more, and the German was just too wrong.
He broke, taking a 5-2 lead, and then he broke once more to finish things off, winning the second set 6-2. It was a really solid outing for Zverev, who avoided a long match, which could have complicated things for him moving forward.
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