Luciano Darderi pulled off an incredible comeback against Alexander Zverev in the R16 of the Rome Masters. The 24-year-old Italian, who was playing his first-ever fourth-round match at a Masters event, lost the opening set 1-6 and managed to take the second set into a tiebreaker. He stood on the cusp of defeat at one stage but ended up saving four match-points in the tiebreaker and went on to clinch the second set 7-6. Darderi decimated Zverev in the deciding set 6-0 to secure his maiden berth in the quarterfinals of a Masters event. Postgame, Darderi was not letting Zverez take away anything from his victory as he hit back at the uneven conditions argument.

After the match, Zverev had a lot to complain about the conditions at the BNP Paribas Arena and even claimed that it was the “worst court” he had ever played on. While the wind seemed to cause big problems for the German, he was convinced that the court was to blame for his defeat.

“Zverev complained? It was not easy today. It was windy, and it was difficult to control. In the end, however, there is for both of them. It is true that the court was not at its best at times. There have been some bad bounces. I, however, have gotten used to the situation,” he said during the post-match press conference.

Decoding his comeback victory against Zverev, Darderi claimed it to be the “most important” match of his career. He pointed out that a crucial moment of the match came when Zverev earned a chance to serve for the match at 5-4, but served a couple of double-faults to blow the game away. This allowed Darderi to level up the set at 5-5 and eventually take it to a tiebreaker.

“It’s definitely the most important game of my career. Against Zverev in Rome, the first quarterfinals of a Masters 1000. It is the most beautiful, most exciting match. It all clicked in the 5-4 of the second set, when he served for the match with new balls. At that juncture, he, who until then had hit at 220 km/h, served a couple of double faults that allowed me to get back into the match. There, I took advantage of it. At 5-5, 0-30, the match turned in my opinion. I thought that if I won that game, the match could change. In the tie-break, I was very tense. In the third, I managed to find my best tennis,” he further said.

This was Darderi’s first-ever victory over Zverev in a tour-level match, and Darderi will remember it for a long time. He is set to face 19-year-old Rafael Jodar, who has also had a solid campaign in Rome. This will be the first time that the two will lock horns against each other, so no one really knows what to expect. While Jodar may be in better form at the moment, Darderi will have the backing of the home crowd and does have the potential to reach the semis.

On the other hand, this defeat will definitely be a bitter pill to swallow for Zverev. The 29-year-old had a chance of making it to the quarterfinals of all five Masters events he has played so far this season, a feat that has only been achieved by Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Fernando Verdasco, and Tomas Berdych in the past 35 years. Having previously clinched the Italian Open title in 2017 and 2024, Zverev will definitely be disappointed to face a last-16 exit on a court he deemed unplayable.

Interestingly, Zverez wasn’t alone in raising complaints about the standards of the courts in Rome. World No. 14, Andrey Rublev, had also shared a similar sentiment on the matter and had suggested that the courts were unplayable.

Andrey Rublev exposes the “ridiculous” conditions at the Italian Open

In a recent chat with Sky Sports presenter Gigi Salmon, Rublev pointed out that the wind had made it difficult for him to gauge his shots properly.

“I had a chat earlier with Andrey Rublev, and he said you can’t play tennis. He said ‘I was hitting balls that I thought were going to go out, and then they were winners. They were ridiculous conditions, you cannot play like this,” Salmon said.

Additionally, Rublev was also critical of the courts used at the Roland Garros these days. When asked if the courts in Italy reminded him of the conditions at the French Open, he had delivered a blunt verdict on how the courts in Paris have changed over the years.

“No, I don’t see any similarities at all. I don’t know, now in recent years in Paris, especially if you don’t play at the stadium, then it’s like you’re not playing on clay at all – it’s slippery, concrete, and there is not much sand. I don’t even know what it looks like… Nothing,” he had said in an interview with Championat.

Though Rublev isn’t a fan of the conditions in Rome, he has so far had a brilliant run in the tournament. The Russian has registered three wins and has qualified for the quarterfinals, where he is set to take on Jannik Sinner. The two have locked horns on 10 occasions previously, and the Italian holds a 7-3 lead in the H2H record. He has claimed victory in their previous two meetings and is the favorite heading into the upcoming clash as well.

Will Sinner go on to continue his 26-match winning streak, or will Rublev cause one of the biggest upsets of the season so far? Let us know your predictions in the comments!