![\"Luciano](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/darderi-us-open-2025-r2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n ATP Tour
\n Darderi has waited more than 7 years for another shot at Alcaraz. Now, he’s got it.<\/p>\n
Former junior rivals to face off Friday at the US Open<\/p>\n
August 28, 2025<\/p>\n
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Ishika Samant\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Luciano Darderi in action during his second-round victory against Eliot Spizzirri at the US Open.
\n By Andy West<\/p>\n
When Carlos Alcaraz<\/a> and Luciano Darderi<\/a> step onto Arthur Ashe<\/a> Stadium on Friday at the US Open<\/a>, it will mark a full-circle moment for the former junior rivals. <\/p>\n Alcaraz\u2019s rise to becoming the youngest No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings history and a five-time major titlist has been one of the dominant storylines in global sport across the past few years. In that time, he and Darderi have never faced each other, yet the Italian was one of those who was there at the dawn of Alcaraz\u2019s stunning rise to the top. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve known each other since we were 14 and 15, when we played in the semi-finals of a tournament in France,\u201d the No. 34 in the PIF ATP Rankings Darderi told ATPTour.com in New York. \u201cI lost to him 7-5 in the third. It was a European competition, Italy against Spain. That was the last time we played. I remember he already played amazing at that point. Those weeks he had just started training with [Juan Carlos] Ferrero. <\/p>\n \u201cI remember he told me, \u2018Now I\u2019m going to train with Ferrero\u2019, and then a week later he beat [Federico] Gaio, a guy who was No. 120 in the world at one point. Then at 16 he started to play even more amazing, and from then he never stopped. He deserves it because he\u2019s a good guy. I like the way he plays, he\u2019s really funny. Playing against him on this court is going to be amazing.\u201d <\/p>\n Although their respective tennis journeys quickly went in different directions after their 2018 junior encounter, Darderi was touched when Alcaraz sent him a congratulatory message via social media after he lifted his maiden ATP Tour title in Cordoba in 2024. A fellow fluent Spanish speaker (although Darderi represents Italy, he was born and grew up in Argentina), the 23-year-old still speaks fondly about that interaction. <\/p>\n \u201cThe first title is special at the beginning of your career, and he wrote that to me,\u201d recalled Darderi. \u201cSo I appreciated that he sent me that message. It felt so good that he was even thinking about it, because it is not easy when he had already won so much and was No. 1. We had lost contact a little bit because he had gone up so much, so fast, and we played different tournaments.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s an amazing guy. It\u2019s really great, because it doesn\u2019t matter that he\u2019s No. 1 or No. 2 in the world, he\u2019s still the same person.\u201d <\/p>\n You May Also Like: Darderi’s connection to Maradona & fitting Napoli reset <\/a><\/p>\n Darderi is 27-19 for the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win\/Loss Index, with 21 of those wins coming on clay. He is joint-second, alongside Alexander Bublik<\/a>, for the most tour-level singles titles won in 2025 having lifted trophies in Marrakech, Bastad and Umag. Alcaraz, with six titles, is the only man ahead of him on that list. <\/p>\n \u201cThree ATP Tour titles this year is a lot, I feel really good about that. Including two in a row on clay,\u201d said Darderi, who has defeated Rinky Hijikata<\/a> and Eliot Spizzirri<\/a> so far in New York. \u201c[My run here] is different, but I think I deserve it. I\u2019ve worked all my life to be here, at the US Open<\/a> in the third round, so it\u2019s impressive for me. To be seeded at a major for the first time also, with the pressure, it is not easy to play.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"It](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1756428971_923_it-all-adds-up-banner.jpg\"\/)
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