Carlos Alcaraz’s startled congratulations to Luciano Darderi

Hours after winning the title, the world No. 2 got in touch with the Cordoba Open champion.

It is Sunday just before midnight, and 22-year-old qualifier Luciano Darderi has just won his first-ever ATP Tour title at the Cordoba Open. The Italian, who was born in Argentina and is currently ranked 76th in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, suddenly notices two notifications flash on his phone.

He grinned and said to ATPTour.com, “On Sunday night I got a notification saying that Carlos Alcaraz had started following me and I had a message from him.” The Villa Gesell native and the No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings frequently competed in the same youth competitions, but they had never previously exchanged messages.

“To be honest, even though I’ve known him since I was a young child, I wasn’t expecting him to write to me because he’s such a huge star,” Darderi said.

“Phenomenon, congrats! You’re truly remarkable! The Spanish sent the Italian a direct message on Instagram, saying, “Keep it up.” Darderi assured Alcaraz he would visit him in Buenos Aires and thanked him immediately upon seeing it. After agreeing, the Spanish person said, “a big hug, enjoy the moment!” to end the conversation.

We haven’t had a chance to hang out, so I haven’t run into him yet. I played during his practise sessions. However, I want to run into him and say hello. He didn’t have to send me anything, therefore his message demonstrated to me how humble he is,” he remarked.

In addition to all the texts and congrats he got, Darderi also shared a heartfelt video that David Nalbandian had sent. He proclaimed, “He’s another tennis superstar and one of the best in Argentine tennis history.”

The match that set the stage for Darderi’s championship run was his quarterfinal triumph over World No. 26 Sebastian Baez, which gave him his highest-ranked career win.

“Believing I could win that match demonstrated to me my mental toughness.” It was an extremely difficult match, but I persevered and got through it,” Darderi remarked.
Prior to qualifying on Wednesday, Darderi was the first to arrive at the Mario Alberto Kempes, and on Sunday, with the trophy in hand, she was the last to depart. The Italian celebrated his 22nd birthday a few days later, and he is now certain that he has what it takes to succeed on the ATP Tour.

Because of his game and rating, he genuinely believes that he belongs at this level, he stated. “But I still require a great deal of competition and tournaments. To give it my all at this level, I have to work and play a little harder than I did before,” he remarked.

“It will be easier for me to maintain my career after this week in Cordoba. I can continue to work on myself, plan my events more calmly, and I will see results,” he said.

Thus, there will be many more thrilling and fresh chapters in Darderi’s history of growth that doesn’t seem to be slowing down.