The 2026 Nordea Open is shaping up quite a bit as fans who watch tennis closely likely expected. Before Andrey Rublev took on Alejandro Tabilo in one semifinal, Luciano Darderi had already earned his place in the final. All three players are excellent on clay.
The best part of that meant that the matches were likely going to be highly entertaining for those watching in Bastad, Sweden, and on their screens at home from wherever else they were watching, and those matches were going to be played at a high level.
Rublev and Darderi certainly didn't disappoint. The Russian was striking the ball well from the opening point in the first set. He was also pressuring the Chilean on his service games early. At 1-all, Rublev did get the break, and he carried that through the rest of the set, rarely dropping a point on serve. He took the set 6-4.
Andrey Rublev's gritty run in Bastad isn't over yet
The challenge for each player in the opener was making sure that the first serve was landed. When the Russian did so, he didn't lose a point (17 for 17), but when he needed to hit a second serve, he lost more than half the points. Tabilo wasn't quite as efficient on his first serve, though still quite good, but struggled with his second.
This was important because it meant any dip in form by either player on the first serve in the second set would put their chances of winning the match and moving into the final in peril. Unfortunately for Rublev, he was the one to suddenly start struggling.
Instead of confidently moving into the final with relative ease, he couldn't land half his first serves, and Tabilo got a break midway through. Before the Russian could slightly improve his form, he was suddenly down 2-5. The wind had picked up quite a bit, but it was the Russian who was suffering from that.
Stunningly, though, Tabilo was the one having an issue with his serve while trying to force a set three at 5-3. He also appeared miffed that a ball he thought had gone long from Rublev wasn't called that way by the electronic line-calling, and the Russian was able to get the break.
The Chilean complained to the chair umpire about the point after the game, but no changes would have been made, and the damage was done, but only for one game. Rublev couldn't hold at 4-5, and Tabilo took the set 6-4. After the Russian hit the ball into the net to finish the game, he slammed his racket on the ground.
The final set was even through six games until Rublev got a break. He only needed to hold serve for two games to take the match, but in the next game he found himself down 0-30 and then a break point. He wouldn't let his chance to move ahead slip away, however. He fought back to hold by winning the final three points.
Rublev almost didn't need to serve again. He had a break point in the next game, but hit a couple of shots just wide, and another just clipped the top of the net, and Tabilo was able to hold. So did Rublev at 5-4, and the Russian had earned himself another gritty victory in Bastad.
In the final, Andrey Rublev will take on Luciano Darderi. The Italian has five titles in his career, and all have come on clay courts. If the match were played on any other surface, the Russian might have a fairly large advantage. At the Nordea Open, Darderi might have the upper hand.
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