None of them came on clay, with the two never meeting on it before, but with it being the Russian’s worst surface, anything other than a Sinner win tonight would be a big shock.<\/p>\n
Follow every point of Sinner vs Medvedev here<\/a><\/p>\n 18:46 CET –\u00a0Casper Ruud<\/a> has absolutely stormed into the final of the Italian Open, being equally as dominant in the second set to beat Luciano Darderi<\/a> 6-1, 6-1<\/a>.<\/p>\n He dropped just 13 points on his serve and spent barely over an hour on court on his way to victory, ensuring that he’ll be in the best condition possible for Sunday’s final, which will be his fourth in a Masters 1000 tournament.<\/p>\n 18:19 CET – We’re finally back underway in the Italian capital, and Casper Ruud<\/a> has wrapped up the first set, taking it 6-1<\/a> against Luciano Darderi<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Norwegian proved too strong for his Italian opponent, winning 82% of points behind his first delivery while converting three of four break-point opportunities.<\/p>\n 16:10 CET –\u00a0The heavens have opened in Rome, and rain is pouring down all of a sudden, meaning the first men’s semi-final has been interrupted. It could be a long break this – it doesn’t look like a passing shower.<\/p>\n 15:35 CET –\u00a0The first men’s semi-final at the Italian Open, between\u00a0Casper Ruud<\/a> and home hope Luciano Darderi<\/a>, is just getting underway in Rome.<\/p>\n You can follow every point live here!<\/a><\/p>\n 14:05 CET –\u00a0With just under 90 minutes until the first men’s semi-final, let’s take a look ahead to it.<\/p>\n At 25 in the world, Casper Ruud may be five spots lower than Luciano Darderi in the ATP rankings, but he still heads into this as the favourite, thanks to his clay-court record.<\/p>\n The Norwegian player has 12 clay-court titles to his name, including the 2025 Madrid Masters 1000, and has also reached two French Open finals. On the red stuff, he’s a real force.<\/p>\n That being said, Darderi is also something of a clay-court specialist, with his five ATP titles all coming on the surface. However, he’s never made the final of a tournament as big as this one.<\/p>\n He’s played excellently this week, though, and will have the home crowd behind him.<\/p>\n 11:00 CET – Good morning and welcome to our coverage of men’s semi-finals day at the Italian Open!<\/p>\n First up, at 15:30 CET<\/a>, Norway’s resurgent Casper Ruud<\/a> takes on Luciano Darderi<\/a>, with the Italian making his first-ever appearance in a Masters semi-final.<\/p>\n The pair have never met before, however, Ruud will certainly fancy his chances of reaching a 19th career final on his favourite surface, as he targets a first title since October 2025.<\/p>\n The second semi-final<\/a> sees world number one and overwhelming favourite for the title, Jannik Sinner<\/a>, take on 2023 champion Daniil Medvedev<\/a>.<\/p>\n It’s the 17th meeting between the pair, with Sinner – who leads the head-to-head record 9-7 – looking to move one step closer to completing the full set of Masters titles.<\/p>\n![\"Ruud](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/62aae367-12ba-46e7-bcb2-5be309dc904b.jpg\" "\\"Ruud")
Ruud vs Darderi match statsFlashscore<\/p>\n![\"Casper](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c88ed04e-ef3c-42be-bdc4-a43118540a99.jpg\" "\\"Casper")
Casper Ruud’s career statsFlashscore (Claudia Greco \/ Reuters)<\/p>\n