Big surprise at the ASPRIA Harbor Club: immediately off Cristian Garin, number 2 on the draw, beaten 6-3 7-5 by Luciano Darderi. The Chilean’s defeat shows how competitive tennis is today, where a short stop is enough to lose contact with the best. Just twelve months ago, the Chilean reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. This year he dropped to number 124 in the ATP and chose Milan to restart after a month and a half stop due to injury. That was enough to lose against Darderi: the Italian-Argentine is a youngster on the rise, but this year he hadn’t made the hoped-for progress. Except for the final at the Challenger in Buenos Aires, he had mainly collected defeats, appearing in Milan with a seasonal balance of 13 victories and 17 defeats. Instead he played an excellent game, taking advantage of Garin’s difficulties. The proverbial grit of coach Andres Schneiter was not enough, who supported his student in a very loud way, with advice and encouragement after each point. On the other hand, he cared: last year he had “won ” this tournament as Federico Coria’s coach, while this year he came out in the first round. Darderi managed the match up to 6-3 4-2, then there was a proud reaction from the Chilean, capable of winning three games in a row. When the match could get complicated, Darderi held his nerve and managed to close in two sets. Who knows if this success can turn his season around. In the round of 16 he will face the Peruvian baby Gonzalo Bueno.
