Ruud Ends Darderi's Dream: Rome Final for the Norwegian

Casper Ruud defeated Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-1 in one hour and four minutes, reaching the first final of his career at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. The semifinal, suspended for one hour and 59 minutes due to rain on Centre Court at the Foro Italico, resumed in the late afternoon with the Norwegian already up 4-1.

For Darderi, playing his first Masters 1000 semifinal, a historic week comes to a close: the 24-year-old Italo-Argentine will climb to number 16 in the ATP ranking, a new career high. The cost of the run, however, had already been paid in the previous rounds: the four match points saved against Zverev in the round of 16 and the marathon against Jodar that ended around two in the morning left a player on court with no energy left, struggling on serve and with his backhand misfiring.

Ruud, who had lost three semifinals in Rome in the past, finally reaches his first final at the Foro Italico and is chasing the second Masters 1000 title of his career. On Sunday he will face the winner of Sinner-Medvedev.

Before the rain, only 24 minutes had been played on Centre Court, with Ruud leading 4-1 on Darderi's serve. When play resumed, the match was effectively already decided: the Italo-Argentine kept trying in spurts, held his smile even in the toughest moments, but his legs never responded.