Any Andrey Rublev match might see a player suffer an emotional, albeit thankfully temporary, breakdown. Normally, that would be Rublev. He is known as a very nice human being off the court, but on the court, he appears to be constantly fighting personal demons.
This is why tennis fans watching Luciano Darderi struggle so much to keep his poise against Rublev in the final of the Nordea Open was so surprising. The Italian began to get extremely aggravated with himself at the end of the first set, but seemingly for no reason.
After all, the set was extremely tight. Neither player was performing overly well, but neither was playing horribly either. Rublev was showing off a bit more nuance to his game, too. Instead of always attempting to blast away at every opportunity, he used a drop shot to effect. Maybe this partly frustrated Darderi, as Rublev seemed like the better-prepared player.
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Still, each player held until Rublev led 5-4, but with Darderi serving. In the course of being broken, giving the set to the Russian, the Italian slammed his racket on the ground one minute, and then, after the game had been lost, he ripped off his shirt in anger.
His mood was not helped by being broken in the second game of the second set, and Darderi seemingly understood that his fate in the match was sealed. Rublev wasn't serving with perfection, but doing enough to keep holding. Darderi had only one break opportunity in the first set, and just one in the second.
The Italian was also not able to finish points strongly. In the first set, he had zero winners, and yet he was able to keep the match close. Any hope that this might have given him was unseen, as fans watched in anticipation of the Italian suffering yet another emotional crisis.
Darderi was more composed as the second set wore on, even while he was kept at a game's pace away from Rublev. The Italian pushed the Russian more on his service games, and Darderi even tried to get the crowd a bit on his side. It was an honorable effort, but ultimately a lost cause.
Andrey Rublev, the top seed at the event, would serve out the match and win the second set 6-4. The victory was his second title at the Nordea Open. The first came in 2023. For once, it was Rublev who was the stronger player emotionally. Maybe that will mean great things in the future.
