Nakashima blitzes Darderi with 11-ace display to reach maiden Masters 1000 semi-final
Brandon Nakashima reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 win over Luciano Darderi, striking 11 aces and losing just a single service game along the way, and extending a run that has him closing in on a new career-high ranking.
Brandon Nakashima, Montreal 2026 | © Zuma / PsNewz
American Brandon Nakashima, the No. 28 seed, defeated Italian Luciano Darderi, the No. 19 seed, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers on Tuesday evening, his first appearance in the final four at this level after also becoming the oldest quarter-finalist left in the draw at 25. Darderi saved one match point before Nakashima closed it out.
Nakashima will next face the winner of the match between Spaniard Rafael Jodar, the No. 20 seed, and Frenchman Arthur Fils, the No. 18 seed, with a place in his first Masters 1000 final on the line.
The scoreline undersold how one-sided the match was. Nakashima struck 11 aces to Darderi’s two and served just a single double fault to the Italian’s six, winning 100 percent of his own service games and 70 percent of total service points.
Nakashima’s fifth semifinal in 2025
Darderi, by contrast, converted only three of his eight break-point chances and was broken three times from four, while piling up 28 unforced errors to Nakashima’s 16. The American finished with 26 winners to Darderi’s 11.
The win sent Nakashima into his fifth tour-level semi-final of the season, after Brisbane, Acapulco, Queen’s Club and Washington, and his 14th overall, his first at Masters 1000 level, one round after he’d also reached his first Masters 1000 quarter-final of his career.
The result puts him in position for a new career-high ranking once the tournament ends, according to the ATP’s own live-rankings projections, with a further win in the semi-finals set to move him inside the world’s top 25. Nakashima, ranked No. 31, had beaten No. 23 seed Arthur Rinderknech of France 7-6 (4), 5-7, 7-5, countryman Titouan Droguet 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 and German Daniel Altmaier 6-2, 6-1 to reach the same stage.
Darderi, ranked No. 22, had been chasing a second Masters 1000 semi-final of the season after Rome in May, and his first outside of clay. He had beaten Portuguese Nuno Borges 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, Chinese Juncheng Shang 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 and Canadian Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 2-3 (retired) to reach the fourth round.
