ATP Tour

Darderi captures Umag title, survives late ankle scare to triumph

Luciano Darderi maintained his perfect record in ATP Tour finals on Saturday at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, where he downed Carlos Taberner 6-3, 6-3 to win his second title in as many weeks.

The Italian triumphed at the ATP 250 in Bastad last week and backed that up in Umag, where he used his brutal baseline power to blast through the draw and become just the third man to win at least three tour-level titles this year, joining Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Bublik, who also won his second consecutive trophy in Kitzbuehel on Saturday.

"It is something special for me," Darderi said. "The last month has been crazy. I just want to thank my dad and my whole team. Without them it would be impossible. I am very happy about the title.

"It was two crazy weeks. If you told me this two weeks ago, I'd say it was impossible. But I am very happy with my performance and my tennis was incredible this week. I will try to rest now and continue to play like this in the next week on hard courts."

In the final game of the match, Darderi seemed to roll his ankle when he brought up match point. Visibly limping, the Italian managed to seal victory in the following point before he collapsed to the court in the Umag rain.

Unable to walk properly, Taberner demonstrated great sportsmanship to help the second seed to his feet, with Darderi then receiving treatment on his ankle ahead of the trophy ceremony.

Darderi, a four-time tour-level champion, is up 11 spots to No. 35 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings following his run at the clay-court ATP 250. The 23-year-old began July at No. 59, but has climbed to within three spots of his career high No. 32 after winning nine consecutive matches across Bastad and Umag.

In the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, rain fell for the majority of the 86-minute clash but it did not deter the second seed. Darderi struck 20 winners to 17 unforced errors and a forehand winner at 3-2 in the first set was enough to earn him the crucial break in the first set.

The Italian looked in control throughout the second set and is now 19-1 on clay in 2025 against players outside the Top 30, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Taberner upset top seed Francisco Cerundolo en route to his maiden tour-level final. The Spaniard leaves Croatia up 27 spots at No. 84 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and is set to rise to a career high on Monday.

{{player.PlayerFirstName}} {{player.PlayerLastName}}

{{player.PlayerCountryCode}}

{{player.PlayerLastName}}

{{player.PartnerLastName}}

{{player.Record}}

Vs
wins

{{opponent.Record}}

Show H2H Detail

{{opponent.PlayerFirstName}} {{opponent.PlayerLastName}}

{{opponent.PlayerCountryCode}}

{{ opponent.PlayerLastName }}

{{opponent.PartnerLastName}}

• {{player.Ranking}} Rank {{opponent.Ranking}}
• {{player.Age ? player.Age : '-'}} Age {{opponent.Age ? opponent.Age : '-'}}