Italian star Luciano Darderi continued his dream run at the Italian Open 2026 after overcoming Spanish youngster Rafael Jodar 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-0 in a thrilling quarterfinal battle that lasted nearly three hours and finished in the early hours of Thursday. With the win, Darderi advanced to the semifinals and achieved the best Masters 1000 result of his career.
Luciano Darderi stuns Rafael Jodar at Italian Open
Darderi entered the quarter finals with high confidence after knocking out second seed Alexander Zverev in the previous round and carried that momentum onto Campo Centrale. Even as rain interruptions delayed the schedule late into the night, the passionate Rome crowd cheered for the home favourite throughout the encounter.
The match was stopped for a brief period during the opening set after smoke from fireworks at the nearby Stadio Olimpico, which was hosting the Coppa Italia Final between Inter Milan and Lazio, drifted across the Foro Italico courts. The thick haze affected visibility and temporarily interfered with the tournament’s electronic line-calling system. Once play resumed, Luciano Darderi mounted an impressive comeback from 2-5 down in the tiebreak to clinch the opening set in front of the home crowd.
The 18th seed looked set to wrap up the match comfortably after storming to a 3-0 lead in the second set. However, Rafael Jodar fought back brilliantly, saving two match points before holding for 5-5. The Spaniard then secured another crucial break and served out the set to push the contest into a deciding third set.
Darderi will take on Casper Ruud in the semifinals
The intensity of the match appeared to catch up with 19-year-old Jodar in the third set, where he lost serve twice and allowed Darderi to wrap up the win comfortably, “I think it’s the best win of my career because of the crowd and everything here in Rome,” Darderi said in his on-court interview. First time in the semifinals, it’s a dream to play here. It was difficult because we started around 11, the court was very slow… I just kept fighting and I’m very happy about that.”
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Darderi will take on Casper Ruud in the semifinals on May 15 after the Norwegian beat Russia’s Karen Khachanov 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 earlier on Wednesday.
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