Darderi, Bagnis set all-qualifier final in Cordoba

Cordoba Open

Italian qualifier Luciano Darderi booked a spot in the Top 100 and a place in his maiden ATP Tour final after winning a rollercoaster third set against second seed Sebastian Baez at the Cordoba Open Saturday night.

Born in Argentina but an Italian national, Darderi came into the tournament with just one ATP Challenger match win on the season, but wll now play for his first ATP Tour title after upsetting the World No. 26 Argentine 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

In Sunday’s final the 21-year-old will face a first tour-level Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with fellow qualifier Facundo Bagnis, who will also seek his maiden tour-level title after defeating countryman Federico Coria 6-3, 7-5.

“Baez is an amazing player and I am very happy for the victory,” Darderi said. “Bagnis and I are both fighters, so it will be a tough match tomorrow. I am going to be ready as I try to win my first title.”

Darderi appeared to be cruising to victory against Baez at 4-1 in the deciding set but two games later he served back-to-back double faults from 30-all to hand back the break. But another plot twist awaited, as he won four straight points from 30/0 on Baez's serve, clinching the boomerang break with a down-the-line backhand passing shot from deep behind the baseline.

Baez had been on a nine-match clay-court winning streak, dating back to his title run in Kitzbuehel last year.

Darderi began the week as World No. 136, but has jumped inside the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings Top 100 for the first time in his career by reaching the final. He is now at No. 94 and could go as high as No. 76 with a title.

Coming into the tournament at No. 207 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Bagnis is the lowest-ranked player to reach a final since then-No. 255 Alex Molcan reached the Belgrade-2 final in 2021.

Man on a mission 😲@facubagnis is yet to drop a set this week as he gets the better of Coria 6-3 7-5 for a place in the title match!

📷 @CordobaOpen |#CórdobaOpen pic.twitter.com/8ngsHAieAj

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 10, 2024

The 33-year-old, who saved 10 of 11 break points faced against Coria according to Infosys ATP Stats, reached his lone final in Santiago in 2021. But Bagnis has plenty of experience in finals at other levels, boasting a 17-13 record in 30 ATP Challenger Tour finals during his career. His highest ranking was No. 55 in 2016.

“Today was a real battle. Federico is a real fighter like me. Being in the final here in my country, I’m really happy," Bagnis said.