Darderi wins Perugia Challenger, reaches career-high Top 40 ranking

Luciano Darderi continued his breakthrough season Sunday when he triumphed at the ATP Challenger Tour 125 event in Perugia, Italy. Following his title run, the 22-year-old rose to a career-high No. 34 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

The Argentina-born Italian hammered his groundstrokes all week en route to a dominant run, not dropping a set across five matches. Darderi fed off the home crowd’s energy in the final, downing sixth seed Sumit Nagal 6-1, 6-2 to win the Internazionali di Tennis Citta di Perugia, his third ATP Challenger Tour title.

“I’m very happy because all week I played against amazing players, Fabio [Fognini], [Andrea] Pellegrino, semi-finals against [Daniel] Altmaier. In the final, Sumit Nagal, who is playing really, really good,” said Darderi, the first Italian champion in nine editions of the Perugia Challenger.

“This tournament is really special to me. It’s really close to my house. Here in Umbria, I feel really good. Last year I won in Todi.”

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A year ago Darderi was ranked outside the Top 200 of the PIF ATP Rankings and seeking his maiden ATP Challenger Tour trophy. Now a Top 40 player, Darderi’s standout 2024 season is highlighted by his maiden ATP Tour triumph as a qualifier in Cordoba. He also was a semi-finalist at the ATP 250 events in Houston and Lyon.

Darderi is the third player this year to win a title on both the ATP Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour, joining Alejandro Tabilo and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

In other ATP Challenger Tour action, Briton Jacob Fearnley enjoyed a dream run to capture the grass-court Rothesay Open in Nottingham. The 22-year-old qualifier entered the week without a Challenger-level match win, but went all the way to the title, defeating countryman Charles Broom 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

“If you told me at the start of the week I was going to be the champion I would have laughed,” Fearnley said. “I am just super happy and I can’t believe it.”

<img src="/-/media/images/news/2024/06/17/13/25/fearnley-nottinghamch-2024.jpg" style="width:100%;" alt="Jacob Fearnley wins the Nottingham Challenger.” />
^{Jacob Fearnley wins the Rothesay Open, the ATP Challenger Tour’s second grass-court tournament of the season. Credit: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images for LTA}

Rain forced Broom and Fearnley to pull double duty Sunday, completing their semi-final matches in the morning and later returning for the final. Fearnley, who last month completed his fifth year at Texas Christian University, is the third consecutive British champion in Nottingham, joining Daniel Evans (2022) and Andy Murray (2023). Fearnley is up 251 spots to a career-high World No. 274.

Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo collected his eighth ATP Challenger Tour crown and first since January 2023 by winning the Lima Challenger. The top-seeded lefty survived a pair of three-hour marathons in the quarter-finals and semis before finding his best level in the final, ousting Brazilian Pedro Boscardin Dias 6-4, 6-3.

<img src="/-/media/images/news/2024/06/17/13/32/cerundolo-limach-2024.jpg" style="width:100%;" alt="Juan Manuel Cerundolo in action at the Lima Challenger.” />
^{Juan Manuel Cerundolo in action at the Lima Challenger. Credit: Daniel Cram}

Kamil Majchrzak lifted his second ATP Challenger Tour title of the season at the Bratislava Open. The 28-year-old Pole advanced through qualifying en route to the title and defeated #NextGenATP Henrique Rocha 6-0, 2-6, 6-3 in the final. Majchrzak, who won the Kigali Challenger in March, climbed 90 spots to No. 205 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

“This is a very precious one for me because I am on my way back. I am coming back from no ranking and this is the biggest tournament I’ve won,” said Majchrzak. “With this win, I’m very close to securing my US Open qualifying spot, so I’m really happy with the outcome.”

<img src="/-/media/images/news/2024/06/17/13/31/majchrzak-bratislavach-2024.jpg" style="width:100%;" alt="Kamil Majchrzak wins the Bratislava Open.” />
^{Kamil Majchrzak wins his sixth ATP Challenger Tour title in Bratislava. Credit: Bratislava Open}

Hugo Gaston won an all-French final at the Open Sopra Steria in Lyon, overcoming Alexandre Muller 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 in the championship. The 23-year-old lefty, No. 69 in the PIF ATP Rankings, saved nine of 11 break points faced against Muller, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to claim his fourth ATP Challenger Tour trophy.

LYON ON LOCK 🔒

No.1 seed @HugoGaston7 seals his fourth career Challenger title with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 victory over Muller in the Lyon final#ATPChallenger | @FFTennis pic.twitter.com/oJDHPyCEYD

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 16, 2024