Madrid, 24 April 2024 – Luciano Darderi wins his first victory at a Masters 1000. The Azzurri beat Gael Monfils e flies to the second round in Madrid. It is another pearl of the first time to be added for him in the season, after the title won in the ATP circuit in Cordoba. (read here)
Number 60 in the world, which represents his best rankingdefeated 6-4 6-2 an opponent he had beaten for the fourth time in his season debut.
The story of the match – source supertennistv.it
Darderi dribbles with very strong, deep shots from the baseline, alternating with short balls. He has traditional clay court patterns, adapted to energetic, athletic and therefore modern tennis. Monfils struggles a bit in the first few games to counter these kinds of trajectories from the left side, both with his backhand and when he tries to turn around the ball and counterattack forehand. The Frenchman is not very explosive, sinking his backhand along the line with which he delivers a second break to Darderi (4-1).
The Frenchman shortens time and exchanges, goes to the net earlier and more, thus partially closing the deficit (4-3), but continues to make a lot of mistakes from the left. Darderi knows how to control the game from behind, how to time the opponent in response, how to put weight on the ball and change pace. His is a physical control of space, if he were a footballer he would be a “box to box” midfielder, from area to area.
The scene does not change in the second set. Darderi relies on efficiency and moderation, while the match effectively turns into a chronicle of an announced victory. With two consecutive aces, Darderi seals the success.
In the next round he will face the American Taylor Fritz, world number 13, for the first time.
Grana FITP photo from supertennistv.it
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