Luciano Darderi Becomes Third Player to Win First ATP Title in 2024
The Italian player won the title at the 2024 Córdoba Open.
In a battle of the qualifiers, Luciano Darderi, 21, of Italy defeated Facundo Bagnis, 33, of Argentina to win the Men’s Singles title at the 2024 Córdoba Open in Córdoba, Argentina (an ATP 250 event). The score in the final was 6-1 and 6-4 in favor of Darderi.
This was the third match Bagnis and Darderi have played against each other on the ATP Tour - with both players having won a prior meeting. This was the first time the two have contested a final against each other. This was also only the third final in ATP Tour history to be contested by two qualifiers - following the 2015 Apia International Sydney and the 2018 Generali Open Kitzbühel.
Moreover, today’s victory is the first title Darderi has won on the 2024 ATP Tour and the first title of his career in single’s competition. Notably, he becomes the third player to win his first ATP title during the 2024 season - joining Jiří Lehečka of the Czech Republic and Alejandro Tabilo of Chile. So far, Darderi is the youngest player to achieve this feat in 2024.
Heading into this tournament, Darderi was ranked as the Number 136 tennis player on the 2024 ATP Tour, while Bagnis carried the Number 207 designation. By winning in Córdoba, Darderi has received 250 points in the overall rankings. Meanwhile, Bagnis has picked up 165 points.
Sebastián Báez of Argentina (No. 26) was the tournament’s reigning champion. This year though, he lost in the semifinals against Darderi. This was the sixth edition of the tournament - with each crowning a different champion. Both Bagnis and Darderi won six rounds of competition - two in the qualifying draw and four in the main draw - to reach the final.
Darderi arrived in the final after winning against Alessandro Giannessi of Italy (No. 222), Andrea Collarini of Argentina (No. 294), Tomás Barrios Vera of Chile (No. 108), Sebastian Ofner of Austria (No. 38), Yannick Hanfmann of Germany (No. 59), and Báez. He knocked out the event’s second, fourth and seventh seeds.
In the other half of the draw, Bagnis defeated Santiago Rodríguez Taverna of Argentina (No. 203), Thiago Agustín Tirante of Argentina (No. 109), Juan Manuel Cerúndolo of Argentina (No. 148), Roberto Carballés Baena of Spain (No. 65), Jaume Munar of Spain (No. 74), and Federico Coria of Argentina (No. 93). To reach the final, he prevailed against the tournament’s eighth seed.
The revised rankings for the 2024 ATP Tour will be officially released on Monday, February 12. The tour will then play three tournaments between February 12 and 18: the Rotterdam Open in Rotterdam, Netherlands (an ATP 500 event), the Delray Beach Open in Delray Beach, Florida (an ATP 250 event), and the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, Argentina (an ATP 250 event). The Rotterdam Open and the Delray Beach Open will be played on hard courts while the Argentina Open will occur on red clay courts.
Daniil Medvedev of Russia (No. 3) is the reigning champion at the Rotterdam Open. However, he has withdrawn from this year’s event with a right foot injury. Meanwhile, Taylor Fritz of the United States (No. 9) is the reigning champion at the Delray Beach Open. He is looking to defend the title as the tournament’s top seed this year. And finally, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain (No. 2) is the reigning champion at the Argentina Open. He is also trying to defend the title as the event’s top seed this year.