Luciano Darderi was at the center of a pre-match controversy during his semifinal at the Italian Open against Casper Ruud on Friday. The Italian player seemed to ignore a child mascot as he made his way to the main court, prompting former tennis star Rennae Stubbs to quickly express her disapproval on social media.
Before the match had even started, an awkward scene unfolded involving Darderi, Ruud, and the ball kids. As Ruud entered the court for the semifinals, he followed tradition by holding the hand of his assigned child mascot. Meanwhile, Darderi, sporting sunglasses, walked past his waiting child mascot, overlooking the ball boy who was expecting to hold his hand.
Thanks for the submission!
Rennae Stubbs, a former World No. 1 in Women’s doubles, took to Twitter to express her disappointment about the incident.
“Oy, that didnt look great!” – Rennae Stubbs reacted to the incident.
The 24-year-old Darderi had become a local favorite after overcoming significant challenges to reach the semifinals of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. While some online observers attributed his oversight to wearing sunglasses or pre-game nerves, others criticized it as a deliberate act of poor sportsmanship.
Casper Ruud outmatches Luciano Darderi to reach the finals of the Italian Open
In a rain-interrupted semifinal match, Casper Ruud defeated Luciano Darderi with a decisive 6-1, 6-1 victory on Friday. The Norwegian player took just over an hour to secure the win. In a post-match interview, the former World No. 2 noted that he capitalized on Darderi’s nervousness to advance to the finals.
“It’s my 10th semifinal, I think in a Masters 1000, and it was his [Luciano Darderi] first, so you try to use that experience to your advantage, and I think I did that well today” – Casper Ruud said in a post-game interview.
“He was maybe a little bit stressed, a little bit nervous of the occasion, but I tried to stay focused and kind of in my own tunnel vision,” Ruud added
Ruud is set to face either Jannik Sinner, the current World No. 1, or Medvedev in the Rome finals. Meanwhile, Luciano Darderi must decide whether to travel to Germany for the Hamburg Open or to spend time recovering and preparing for the French Open.
Edited by Ahana Bhaumik
