The Italian-Argentine tennis player Luciano Darderi (22nd seed) defeated the Spanish player Pedro Martínez (94th) in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open. According to the Argentine News Agency, the match, which took place in the last session on the Guillermo Vilas court at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, favored Darderi with a score of 7-5 and 6-1 after an hour and a half of play. With the victory, the player born in Villa Gesell maintains his good form and strong start to the year and advanced to the semifinals of the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, where he will face the Argentine Sebastián Báez (34th). Maintaining a high level and positioning himself as one of the top title contenders in his home country, despite having decided to represent the Italian federation, Luciano Darderi defeated Martínez and took another step towards claiming the trophy. In a first set that was even, Darderi had to overcome four break points in his first two service games and was effective enough to break on his only break point in the twelfth game, thus closing the set 7-5. In the second set, the player, who will turn 24 during the semifinals, was able to show his best weapons, with two breaks in the fourth and sixth games and a game in which he won 12 consecutive points to close out the victory on his only match point. Thus, a highly anticipated semifinal will take place, pitting Darderi against the revitalized Sebastián Báez. Having been champion of the ATP 250 in Marrakech, Bastad and Umag last year, the Italian-Argentine arrives with great momentum but will have to measure himself against the player born in San Martín, who is usually successful on the South American clay court circuit, which, in addition, was able to complete a preseason without injuries and shows great mental strength, with a final at the ATP 250 in Auckland, on hard court, in January.
