Luciano Darderi needed just 66 minutes to breeze past Sebastian Baez in the quarterfinals of the Nordea Open, claiming a dominant 2-0 victory (6-0, 6-2) and proving he’s on a clear mission to add another title to his tally after triumphs in Córdoba and Marrakech.
The Italian, born in Argentina, was unstoppable in the opening set. In just 22 minutes, he dismantled his opponent with a bagel, leaving no doubt about who was in control. Darderi opened the match with a break and dictated an aggressive, fast-paced rhythm that gave world No. 37 Baez no chance to respond. The scoreboard quickly read 5-0 in favor of the Italian after a last 9-1 run in points. His powerful serve—reaching over 200 km/h at times—and forehand winners earned him the set 6-0, along with an impressive 89% success rate (17/19) on first-serve points.
Ranked No. 55 in the world, Darderi kept his foot on the gas in the second set, starting again with a break and continuing to dominate every aspect of the game. The 24-year-old Argentine Baez, a former world No. 18, finally managed to win a service game after dropping eight straight, attempting to push back against Darderi’s explosive play.
However, the Italian barely faced any pressure throughout the match, with most of the trouble coming from his own unforced errors (14) rather than Baez’s shots. The Argentine struggled to find depth and pace, delivering shallow and slow strokes that Darderi eagerly punished. Energizing the Båstad crowd, Darderi chased down Baez’s smashes, countered with backhand winners and raced to a 4-1 lead.
On top of his raw power, Darderi displayed smart shot selection, frequently catching Baez off guard with perfectly executed drop shots while the Argentine was several meters behind the baseline. Baez, a finalist at the Nordea Open in 2022, managed to reduce the deficit to 5-2, but Darderi quickly closed out the set 6-2 and celebrated his spot in the Båstad semifinals.
With this victory, Luciano Darderi becomes only the second Italian in the past decade to reach the Båstad semifinals, following Lorenzo Musetti in 2023. He will now face top seed Francisco Cerundolo in a highly anticipated and fiery semifinal showdown that promises intensity and passion on the Centre Court of Båstad.
Båstad, Achilleas Tsakalidis
The Italian, born in Argentina, was unstoppable in the opening set. In just 22 minutes, he dismantled his opponent with a bagel, leaving no doubt about who was in control. Darderi opened the match with a break and dictated an aggressive, fast-paced rhythm that gave world No. 37 Baez no chance to respond. The scoreboard quickly read 5-0 in favor of the Italian after a last 9-1 run in points. His powerful serve—reaching over 200 km/h at times—and forehand winners earned him the set 6-0, along with an impressive 89% success rate (17/19) on first-serve points.
Ranked No. 55 in the world, Darderi kept his foot on the gas in the second set, starting again with a break and continuing to dominate every aspect of the game. The 24-year-old Argentine Baez, a former world No. 18, finally managed to win a service game after dropping eight straight, attempting to push back against Darderi’s explosive play.
However, the Italian barely faced any pressure throughout the match, with most of the trouble coming from his own unforced errors (14) rather than Baez’s shots. The Argentine struggled to find depth and pace, delivering shallow and slow strokes that Darderi eagerly punished. Energizing the Båstad crowd, Darderi chased down Baez’s smashes, countered with backhand winners and raced to a 4-1 lead.
On top of his raw power, Darderi displayed smart shot selection, frequently catching Baez off guard with perfectly executed drop shots while the Argentine was several meters behind the baseline. Baez, a finalist at the Nordea Open in 2022, managed to reduce the deficit to 5-2, but Darderi quickly closed out the set 6-2 and celebrated his spot in the Båstad semifinals.
With this victory, Luciano Darderi becomes only the second Italian in the past decade to reach the Båstad semifinals, following Lorenzo Musetti in 2023. He will now face top seed Francisco Cerundolo in a highly anticipated and fiery semifinal showdown that promises intensity and passion on the Centre Court of Båstad.
Båstad, Achilleas Tsakalidis
