“Returning to Perugia is special”

Darderi: “The Olympics are more important to me than Wimbledon” – The feeling between Luciano Darderi and the Challenger of Perugia is renewed. Already a semi-finalist in 2022, when he surprised the competition as a qualifier, the Italian wants the title this time. The victory over Andrea Pellegrino 6-3 6-3 is confirmation of his excellent form: “Here the ball jumps a lot, so the approach to the match is not easy. After the first two games I had a great game. I’m happy to be back in Perugia, in 2022 I was here practically for 300 in the world but I knew I had this level. In recent months I have had special experiences and returning to Umbria after all this is just as special.” The Umbrian public reciprocates the affection of “Lucio”, launched ten months ago by his success in the Challenger in Todi when he was number 250 in the world and was hurt by his absence from the US Open qualifiers. This week Darderi benefited from a wild card to keep pace on clay, the surface where he will play the Paris Olympics in just over a month. First the trip to the grass, which will culminate with the first time in the main draw at Wimbledon: “For me the Olympics are much more important than Wimbledon. This will be the first year I play Halle, Mallorca and the main draw of the Championships. I don’t have many expectations, we’ll see how it goes.” The morning opened with the doubles victory of Federico Cinà and Francesco Maestrelli, who won the quarter-final 6-2 6-3 with Marcelo Demoliner and Guillermo Duran. In singles, however, Daniel Altmaier advances, the fourth seed who defeated Stefano Travaglia 6-3 7-6(4). The day will continue with Passaro-Agamenone (not before 6.00 pm) and Fognini-Gigante (not before 8.30 pm).