05/15/26 11:55:00
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05/15 11:54 CDT Ruud beats Darderi to reach Italian Open final vs. Sinner or
Medvedev
Ruud beats Darderi to reach Italian Open final vs. Sinner or Medvedev
ROME (AP) --- Casper Ruud maintained his focus during a nearly two-hour rain
delay to rout home player Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-1 and reach the Italian Open
final for the first time on Friday.
The match was suspended with Ruud leading 4-1 in the first set.
In Sunday's final on the red clay of the Foro Italico, Ruud will face
top-ranked Jannik Sinner or former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, who were playing
later.
Coco Gauff will play Elina Svitolina in the women's final on Saturday.
Rome is the last big warmup before the French Open starts in nine days.
Ruud has reached two finals at Roland Garros, losing to Rafael Nadal in 2022
and Novak Djokovic in 2023.
Ruud was once ranked as high as No. 2. He's now No. 25 but will return to the
top 20 on Monday. He has dropped only one set in Rome this year --- to Karen
Khachanov in the quarterfinals.
The 20th-ranked Darderi, who was born in Argentina to a family of Italian
descent, saved four match points in a three-set win over Alexander Zverev in
the fourth round then won another marathon match against Rafael Jodar in a
quarterfinal that ended at 2 a.m.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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