Darderi outlasts Jódar after smoke, rain and a 2 a.m. finish to reach first Masters 1000 semi-final
Luciano Darderi (No 18) became the eighth Italian in the Open Era to reach a Rome semi-final, outlasting Spanish teenager Rafael Jódar (No 32) 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-0. Darderi meets Casper Ruud in the semi-final.
Luciano Darderi, Rome 2026 | © Foto FITP
Italian No. 18 seed Luciano Darderi reached his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final and became the eighth Italian man in the Open Era to reach the Rome semi-finals with a 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-0 win over Spanish No. 32 seed Rafael Jódar in a three-hour, eight-minute quarter-final that finished at 2:02 a.m. on Campo Centrale.
The match was interrupted twice and refused to settle. Darderi raced to a 3-1 lead in the first set before Jódar found his range from the baseline and edged 6-5 – at which point fireworks from the Stadio Olimpico, 500 metres away, where Inter Milan had just beaten Lazio in the Coppa Italia final, drifted across the Foro Italico and forced a near-20-minute stoppage.
The smoke clouded the court and briefly disabled the electronic line-calling system. When play resumed, Darderi held to force the tie-break, came back from 5-2 down, and took it 7-5.
Match points saved
Jódar’s response was emphatic. Down 0-3 in the second and staring at a routine defeat, the 19-year-old, who is only the second teenager after Rafael Nadal (in 2005) to reach the Madrid and Rome quarter-finals in the same season, produced the best stretch of tennis in the match. He broke back for 2-3, saved two break points to hold at 3-3, and then at 4-5 saved two match points on his own serve – a forehand winner on the first, a Darderi backhand long on the second. He broke at 5-5 and served out the set to love.
The heroics came at a cost. Darderi broke Jódar in a marathon second game of the decider that stretched to multiple deuces and five break points, then broke again at 0-4. The Italian, sipping espresso at changeovers, won eight of the last 10 points and closed out the bagel set (same as against Zverev!) as the Spaniard ran out of road. Darderi earned nine break points in the decider and converted three.
The Italian had already saved four match points against No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev in the previous round, the win that opened this run. He will face No. 13 seed Casper Ruud, a 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 winner over Karen Khachanov earlier on Wednesday, in the semi-finals.
“Ball by ball”
“I think it’s the best win of my career because of the crowd and everything here in Rome. First time in the semi-finals, it’s a dream to play here,” Darderi said. “It was difficult because we started around 11, the court was very slow. Rafa is an amazing player. He’s so young, just 19 years old. I had my chances in the second set but then he played just amazing. I just kept fighting and I’m very happy about that.”
He returned to the second-set near-miss in a separate exchange. “It was really a battle. After the second set, I never thought I’d win, but I just tried to take it game by game, ball by ball. I pushed a little bit more in the third set, and physically I won it there. We played really late, it was difficult at a certain point, but I’m happy. The crowd helped me a lot today. It’s really a dream to be in the semifinal.”
Rome Masters 2026 ATP • Round of 16
Sinner (1) d. Pellegrino (Q) 6-2, 6-3
Rublev (12) d. Basilashvili (Q) 3-6, 7-6(5) 6-2
Landaluce (LL) d. Medjedovic 7-5, 6-4
Medvedev (7) d. Tirante 6-3, 6-2
Ruud (23) d. Musetti (8) 6-3, 6-1
Khachanov (13) d. Prizmic (Q) 6-1, 7-6(2)
Jodar (32) d. Tien (19) 6-1, 6-4
Darderi (18) d. Zverev (2) 1-6, 7-6(10), 6-0
Rome Masters 2026 ATP — Quarter-finals
Sinner (1) vs Rublev (12) — Thursday
Landaluce (LL) vs Medvedev (7) — Thursday
Ruud (23) d. Khachanov (13) : 6-1, 1-6, 6-2
Darderi (18) d. Jodar (32) : 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-0
