Darderi (and dad) dare to dream big

It is only fitting that Luciano Darderi’s two title runs this season, one on the ATP Tour and another on the ATP Challenger Tour, have come in Argentina and Italy, the two countries where the 22-year-old has split time throughout his life.

Born in the coastal town of Villa Gesell, Argentina, Darderi was ‘around five years old’ when he received his first tennis racquet as a gift from his grandmother. Little did he and his grandmother know that ‘Luli’ would become a Top 40 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, with his father Luciano as his coach.

“I remember when I was six or seven, I would go by bicycle with my dad and play together,” Darderi recently told ATPTour.com. “It was a court at a hotel, close to the forest and beach. After 10 or 11, I was going to Buenos Aires because they play more tennis there and I started playing more tournaments.

“It's really special for me and my dad too. We have arrived at the level, the ranking, the dream that we've had together. This fast, at 22 years old, is really special. In one year, we are doing a lot of things and I think we have a lot more things to do.”

Set to face German Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round of the Terra Wortmann Open on Wednesday, Darderi realised his potential competing at junior tournaments aged 10, when he started spending six months in Argentina and the other half of the year in Italy, where his grandfather resided. “I started to play 100 per cent and I started to think about playing professionally,” said Darderi, who moved to Italy at age 11.

That young Luciano who was bouncing between two countries and dabbling in three different languages (Spanish, Italian and English) would be proud of everything he has accomplished in his first full season on the ATP Tour.

Darderi enjoyed a surprise run at February’s ATP 250 event in Cordoba, where as a qualifier ranked No. 136 in the PIF ATP Rankings, he went all the way to lift the trophy. Prior to that week, Darderi had just one tour-level match win in two appearances.

“It was incredible to start 2024 making the Top 100. It was very special,” Darderi said. “Coming from qualies in my first ATP Tour tournament of the year, winning in Argentina, it was amazing.”

^{Luciano Darderi greets fans at the Turin Challenger in May. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour}

Now at a career-high World No. 34, Darderi last week built upon his breakthrough season with a dominant run at the Perugia Challenger. The top seed did not drop a set en route to becoming the third player this season to win on the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour, alongside Alejandro Tabilo and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Darderi’s success on the ATP Challenger Tour last year preceded his current rise. He tallied 42 match wins at that level in 2023, third most behind Argentines Francisco Comesana and Facundo Diaz Acosta. A highlight came at the Lima Challenger in November, Darderi’s penultimate tournament of 2023, when he defeated Alejandro Tabilo and Mariano Navone en route to the title. Navone and Tabilo are now inside the Top 30 amidst their own breakthrough seasons.

“After Lima, I was thinking I have the level to be in the Top 100,” Darderi said. “I think playing Challengers was helping me a lot. The Challengers are a very high level and it's very close to the ATP level I think. Playing a lot of matches, practising during the tournaments. When you play a lot of matches, it gives you a lot of confidence for the next level.”

Darderi will not be short on confidence Wednesday, when he looks to build upon last week’s ATP Challenger Tour title run in his first-round clash against Struff in Halle. It will be Darderi's first ATP Tour grass-court match.