Turin, 11 Aug. (LaPresse) – Luciano Darderi’s first quarter-final at the Canadian Open lasted just 77 minutes, as he was soundly beaten 6-2, 6-3 by the American Brandon Nakashima. Last May, Darderi had reached his first quarter-final at a Masters 1000 tournament, the Italian Open, defeating Spain’s Rafael Jodar 7-6, 5-7, 6-0 at the Foro Italico. This time, the outcome was completely different. Darderi found himself in trouble right from the start. He struggled to make an impact with his first serves and found it hard to dictate play from the baseline. The match remained evenly balanced for three games; then, in the fourth game, Darderi saved two break points but succumbed on the third. Nakashima applied good pressure with his cross-court shots from the baseline and, in the eighth game, secured another break to close out the set 6-2. The second set is a tighter contest. Darderi tries to lift her game; in the third game, she capitalises on a dip in her opponent’s form to reach break point, but Nakashima holds on. At 2-2, Darderi reaches break point twice more, but once again lacks the strength to close out the point. She tries again in the seventh game, but once more Nakashima says no. The backlash was inevitable. After squandering four break points, he immediately conceded a break. Nakashima capitalised and sailed through to the semi-finals. For Nakashima, this is his first Masters 1000 semi-final of his career. His next opponent will be the winner of the match between Rafael Jodar and Arthur Fils. By reaching the semi-finals, Nakashima has achieved his career-high ranking of world number 25.
Tennis, ATP Montreal: Darderi knocked out in the quarter-finals, Nakashima through
Turin, 11 Aug. (LaPresse) – Luciano Darderi’s first quarter-final at the Canadian Open lasted just 77 minutes, as he was soundly beaten 6-2, 6-3 by the American Brandon Nakashima. Last May, Darderi had reached his first quarter-final at a Masters 1000 tournament, the Italian Open, defeating Spain’s Rafael Jodar 7-6, 5-7, 6-0 at the Foro Italico. This time, the outcome was completely different. Darderi found himself in trouble right from the start. He struggled to make an impact with his first serves and found it hard to dictate play from the baseline. The match remained evenly balanced for three games; then, in the fourth game, Darderi saved two break points but succumbed on the third. Nakashima applied good pressure with his cross-court shots from the baseline and, in the eighth game, secured another break to close out the set 6-2. The second set is a tighter contest. Darderi tries to lift her game; in the third game, she capitalises on a dip in her opponent’s form to reach break point, but Nakashima holds on. At 2-2, Darderi reaches break point twice more, but once again lacks the strength to close out the point. She tries again in the seventh game, but once more Nakashima says no. The backlash was inevitable. After squandering four break points, he immediately conceded a break. Nakashima capitalised and sailed through to the semi-finals. For Nakashima, this is his first Masters 1000 semi-final of his career. His next opponent will be the winner of the match between Rafael Jodar and Arthur Fils. By reaching the semi-finals, Nakashima has achieved his career-high ranking of world number 25.