The first set might have been too easy for Alexander Zverev. The ATP No. 3 and second-seed at the 2026 Rome Masters appeared well on his way to an easy victory against Italian Luciano Darderi. The 6-1 set one win for the German proved to be a lie.
Darderi, the ATP No. 20, faced match points in the second set, had to go a tense, 18-minute tie-break to get to a third and final set, and then swept away Zverev shockingly 6-0 in what had to be a brutal reminder of how much Zverev still has to do to be great. He simply might never be able to get there.
He is quite good, sure, but he's never won a Grand Slam. Moreover, with Carlos Alcaraz out for a while with a wrist injury, the German should have only been chasing Jannik Sinner for the clear best player on the ATP tour. Instead, Sinner is well above the rest of the field, and Zverev is stuck among the field.
Luciano Darderi shocks Alexander Zverev at the 2026 Rome Masters
Plus, Zverev's best surface is on clay, and he should have made inroads on at least No. 2 Alcaraz, as the Spaniard will drop a lot of points due to missing tournaments. The German will actually drop points due to not reaching the quarterfinals, as he did last year.
For Darderi, he is one of many Italian players reaching lofty goals. While he entered as No. 20, his run at the Rome Masters has him now at No. 17 in the live rankings. Should he win the event, he will get close to the top 10. To do so, however, he will likely have to beat fellow Italian Sinner. That probably won't happen.
Still, if Darderi can play as brilliantly as he did in the third set against Zverev, even while battling cramps, he could become a mainstay near the top 10. Like Sinner, he is only 24 years old, and his best tennis could be ahead of him.
Luciano Darderi will next face another rising star in the quarterfinals at the Rome Masters. He will play 19-year-old Rafael Jodar, who has moved up to No. 29 in the live rankings.
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