Buenos Aires, February 14 (NA) – Argentine-turned-Italian tennis player Luciano Darderi, ranked 22nd in the world, defeated his compatriot Sebastián Báez (34th) in straight sets in the semifinals of the Argentina Open. According to the Argentine News Agency, the second-seeded player triumphed 7-6(2) and 6-1 in one hour and 19 minutes of play to advance to the final of the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, where he will face Francisco Cerúndolo (19th), who comes off a win against his compatriot Tomás Etcheverry. In this way, the top two seeds at the event, held at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, will face off this Sunday to determine the new champion of Argentina's most prestigious tennis tournament. Darderi was involved in a very tight first set where neither player was able to impose their conditions, and both held their serves until reaching the tie-break. There, it was the European who showed greater endurance and composure to handle the tension. After falling behind 2-1, the Italian converted six points in a row to win the partial 7-2 and take a lead into the second set with his confidence sky-high against a Báez who needed to recover quickly to avoid defeat. Unlike the first set, the second was a complete display of Darderi's poise. After starting down 0-1 on the Argentine's serve, he broke his opponent's serve in the third, fifth, and seventh games to secure a convincing 6-1 and a spot in the Argentina Open final.
