Luciano Darderi wins Marrakech title in an upset

MARRAKECH (Agencies): Luciano Darderi of Italy upset top seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) to win the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, Morocco, on Sunday. Griekspoor was competing in his first ATP Tour championship final since 2023, when he won two tournaments. Instead, it was the second win for Darderi, who also was victorious on the clay courts of Cordoba, Argentina, in 2024. Seventh-seeded Darderi survived 10 aces from Griekspoor in a match that otherwise was statistically almost identical between the players. Each player broke serve once, and Griekspoor won points on 76 percent of his first serves, compared to 73 percent from Darderi. Each player won 70 percent of his service points, while Darderi had 27 unforced errors against 30 for Griekspoor.

Tiriac Open:

Third seed Flavio Cobolli won his first ATP Tour title, defeating top-seed Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-4 in Bucharest. Showing the nerves, Cobolli couldn’t seal the victory until his seventh match point. Serving up 5-2 in the second set, he squandered three match points as Baez broke his serve. With Baez serving up 5-3, Cobolli had three more match points before his opponent won the game. Up 40-15 while serving up 5-4, Baez finally was able to convert the seventh championship point. Cobolli arrived at the tournament on an eight-match losing streak. Now, he’s the first Italian to win the Romanian event. It was the first career meeting between Cobolli and Argentina’s Baez. Cobolli had the advantage in points on first serve, winning 76 percent compared to 53 percent for Baez, whose serve was broken four times.

Monte-Carlo Masters:

Richard Gasquet of France won his opening match in Monaco, holding off Matteo Arnaldi of Italy 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Ranked No. 148 in the world, Gasquet converted five of his 10 break opportunities and committed just 28 unforced errors. Arnaldi, ranked No. 39, had 53 unforced errors. Also moving to the second round was home favorite Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, who cruised past Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2, 6-1. Jordan Thompson of Australia moved on after defeating France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-3.