ATP Tour

Ruud reaches first Rome final, downs Darderi

Casper Ruud raced into the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final on Friday in Rome, where he stormed past a fatigued Luciano Darderi, who was competing in his maiden ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

The Norwegian Ruud had fallen at the semi-final stage in the Italian capital on three previous occasions but ensured he would not suffer more heartbreak in the ‘Eternal City’, triumphing 6-1, 6-1 in a match that was disrupted by a one-hour, 59-minute rain delay.

With his win, Ruud moved to within one victory of capturing his second Masters 1000 crown. The 27-year-old triumphed at this level in Madrid last year and is now the sixth active player to reach the championship match at all three clay-court Masters 1000 events (Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Rome). Ruud advanced to the final in Monte-Carlo in 2024.

"It feels great," Ruud said. "I am a bit sorry for Luciano, playing at home and not with the most energy, but it is understandable, he finished at 2:30 am the other night. What a tournament he has had and luckily for me I was done much earlier that day and had a little more time to recover. It is my 10th semi-final at a 1000 and his first, so you try to use that experience to your advantage and I think I did well today."

However, if Ruud is to clinch his 15th tour-level crown and 13th on clay, he may have to overcome World No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Sunday. Sinner is on a record 32-match win streak at the level and faces Daniil Medvedev in the second semi-final.

Ruud dropped outside of the Top 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings following a quarter-final exit in Madrid but is up to No. 17 in the Live Rankings and will therefore return to the Top 20 on Monday.

Home favourite Darderi saved four match points en route to upsetting Alexander Zverev in the fourth round to record his first Top 10 win and he backed that up with a 2 a.m. three-set victory against Spaniard Rafael Jodar in the quarter-finals.

The five-time tour-level champion had spent nine hours on court through his first four matches and had little left in the tank for his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Ruud, but leaves Rome at No. 16 in the Live Rankings after a breakthrough run on home soil.

Ruud had dropped just one set en route to the semi-finals and looked comfortable in the early stages against the Italian on Campo Centrale. The Norwegian frequently got his forehand into play in the exchanges, using that wing to take the first strike in rallies. After 24 minutes, the 27-year-old held a 4-1 lead and was sitting on a break point when play was halted due to heavy rain.

On resumption following the two-hour delay, Ruud continued to fire. The Norwegian won five of the six points played following the resumption to wrap up a 6-1 set. Ruud then raced into a 4-0 lead in the second set and while Darderi provided some resistance on return at 1-4, he was unable to take a break-point lifeline opportunity, with Ruud rolling onto victory.

Did You Know?
Active players Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Stan Wawrinka have also reached the final at all three clay-court Masters 1000 events.