ROME (AP) — Espresso-fueled Luciano Darderi had to deal with a smoke delay before eventually beating teenager Rafael Jodar to reach the Italian Open semifinals, in a match that finished after 2 a.m. local time.
Darderi wasted two match points in the second set but the Italian went on to prevail 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-0.
The match was delayed for nearly 20 minutes toward the end of the first set as smoke wafted in from fireworks that had been set off in the soccer
stadium next door Wednesday after Inter Milan won the Italian Cup final.
Darderi was complaining that he couldn’t see anything and the smoke was also affecting the cameras for the electronic line-calling system, which had to be reset.
When play resumed, Darderi held serve to take the set to a tiebreaker, where he found himself 5-2 down before rallying.
The 24-year-old Darderi, who on at least a couple of occasions was drinking coffee during changeovers, broke immediately in the second set. Jodar managed to break back and then fend off two match points before leveling the match.
Darderi dominated the decider and sealed the result when Jodar hit a forehand into the net.
The 19-year-old Jodar was only the second teenager after Rafael Nadal (in 2005) to reach the Madrid and Rome quarterfinals in the same season.
Darderi reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal and will play Casper Ruud, who earlier overcame 13th-ranked Karen Khachanov 6-1, 1-6, 6-2.
The match was suspended for more than two hours at the start of the second set because of rain, and Khachanov seemed to have dealt better with the enforced break.
The 23rd-ranked Ruud broke Khachanov’s serve twice at the start of the third set and then again to take the match on the second of three match points.
In the women's tournament, three-time champion Iga Swiatek beat Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-2 Wednesday to advance to the Italian Open semifinals.
The fourth-ranked Swiatek’s impressive form bodes well for the upcoming French Open, which she has won four times.
“I’m happy that I can spend some time on the court and play really solid matches against the best girls,” Swiatek said. “For sure it’s giving me confidence because you can practice as much as possible, but if you don’t test it out on the court, play matches and face pressure or something, you’re going to still feel the little bit rusty when it comes.
“Now I’m happy I played couple matches. I’ll play hopefully two more here.”
Swiatek next faces another former Rome champion in Elina Svitolina, who rallied to beat second-seeded Elena Rybakina 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
