Luciano Darderi advances to Cagliari thanks to the withdrawal of Federico Coria. In the next round the Italian will face Mariano Navone, one of the fittest tennis players on this surface. In an interview with Sky Sport, the native of Villa Gesel spoke about how he took his first steps in this sport, his idols, his first ATP title, but above all his intentions for the future: “I started playing tennis in Argentina when I was 5.6 years old and my grandfather gave me my first racket.
Initially I played against a wall, then I started playing with my father. He also played tennis. My grandfather was born in Italy, in the Marche region, while my grandmother was born in Argentina. She supported me a lot, even financially.
As a child I was nice, I even played football with friends. On the pitch, however, I was different, more determined. My idol as a child was Juan Martin Del Potro. When I lived in Argentina it was his best time, I really liked his right.
When I came to Europe Roger Federer instead. I liked his personality, his class. I have a double passport. I decided to play for Italy, but it wasn’t out of convenience.
I want to play Davis Cup and the Olympics. I shared many Junior tournaments with Luca Nardi and Filippo Cobolli and many other good moments.
“Rome is my favorite tournament. I would like to meet Nadal”
I have grown so much physically.
I think I have a good serve and a good forehand. But his backhand is also improving. I didn’t expect to win in Cordoba. Obviously I hoped to do well, but I didn’t hope to win a title so soon. I’m happy with this but continuity has gotten me to where I am today.
I hope to do well on hard courts too, where I don’t have much experience. The 22-year-old expressed a particular preference ahead of the Italian Internationals: “One of my favorite tournaments is undoubtedly Rome. I don’t have any particular pressure, I feel like I don’t have to prove anything.
I will try to do my best and enjoy the moment. If I had to name a player I would like to play with, it’s Rafael Nadal. I hope to at least meet him”, He admitted.
