Photo credit: BJORN LARSSON ROSVALL-TT News Agency-AFP-Getty
Luciano Darderi climaxed his clay-court climb with a celebratory red dirt dive.
On championship point, Darderi slashed the sideline with his sixth ace wrapping a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 triumph over Jesper de Jong in style to win the Bastad Open championship in style.
An emotional Darderi fell back onto the red clay like a man splashing into a swimming pool, arose to tear off his plum-colored shirt then unleashed a primal scream.
The 23-year-old Darderi had cause for celebration.
Darderi collected his third career title, improved to 3-0 in Tour-level finals and became the sixth Italian man in Open Era history to win Bastad. Darderi is the first Italian to rule the historic Swedish tournament since Fabio Fognini beat Richard Gasquet in the 2018 final.
Marrakech champion Darderi joins Roland Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz and compatriot Flavio Cobolli as the only men to win multiple ATP titles on clay this season.
“First I have to say congrats to Jesper on an amazing week,” Darderi said. “I have to say thank you for all the people here. it’s one of the best ATP tournaments—now I think it’s my favorite.
“I work all my life for this moment so I have to say thank you to my dad we were working for this moment. So I’m very happy for this, for my team. We’re doing really good work. I have to say thank you to all the time. It’s been amazing. I hope to come back here next year.”
Embed from Getty Images
Darderi, who edged top-seeded Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3) in yesterday’s semifinals, faced only two break points in a two-hour, six-minute win.
The sixth-seeded Italian overcame a jittery start that saw de Jong win 13 consecutive points to open the match.
The 106th-ranked Dutchman, who was playing for his maiden ATP title, built a 3-0 lead only to see Darderi respond with a five-game run of his own. Darderi converted his third set point for a one-set lead.
“I started quite well—first 13 points were for me then he started the engine,” de Jong said. “Despite the match not being the outcome I wanted, it’s been an incredible week—one of the best weeks of my life.
“In 2019 we were playing club matches with each other in Italy at some weird club. I didn’t know who Luciano was and [he] was a bit crazy already. You are a big inspiration with the energy you bring every time. It’s a big inspiration, you deserve it and congrats to your team as well.”
De Jong won seven straight points to seal the second set, breaking for 5-3 then serving out the set at love to force a decider.
In the third set, Darderi broke for 3-1 then stamped a love hold to consolidate for 4-1.
Serving for the championship, Darderi drilled a running forehand strike down the line sparking an ovation from Bastad fans.
Darderi issued love holds in two of his last three service games to seize his third career title and improve to 15-1 on dirt vs. opponents ranked outside of the Top 30 this season.