US Open star lifts trophy despite Carlos Alcaraz thrashing nine days earlier

Luciano Darderi's US Open came to a disappointing end when he was thrashed by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the third round, getting bagelled and winning just six games overall. After the match, the Italian said he "never felt comfortable" during the match, and was always tense.

But Darderi regrouped to lift the Genoa Challenger title just nine days after his 6-2 6-4 6-0 beatdown to Alcaraz - his fourth trophy on the Challenger tour. And he's now up to a career-high ranking of No. 30 in the world.

It's been an impressive season for Darderi, who has lifted three ATP Tour trophies, two of which came back-to-back in Bastad and Umag in July. But he ran into an "unplayable" Alcaraz in the third round of the US Open and was sent packing on the first Friday of the tournament.

Afterwards, he told Ubitennis: "I wasn't able to play at my full potential; I was always a bit tense and struggling. He puts you in this same situation, too: he plays with a faster pace, always stays on top of the ball, and never gives you any breathing room.

"I think this was the most difficult thing today. I was quite tense with my serve; I served poorly for almost the entire match, only in the second set did I have a few break points at 4-4 that I could have broken. He's at a superior level, though."

It was still a career-best run for Darderi in Flushing Meadows, but he knew he had a tough draw facing Alcaraz so early on.

"I'm disappointed to have found Carlos in the third round, because today he and Jannik are the unplayable ones: they are above everyone else's level," he added.

"Second time I've played here, first time as a seed, third round isn't bad considering I found Carlos."

However, Darderi carried his momentum straight into the Genoa Challenger, entering as the top seed and dropping just one set across five matches to be crowned the champion on home soil.

The 23-year-old defeated countryman Andrea Pellegrino 6-1 6-3 in Sunday's final, just nine days after his US Open exit.

He's now edging closer to his two biggest goals for the end of the season - making his top 20 debut and representing Italy in the Davis Cup.

Italian men's tennis is in a strong position. Jannik Sinner has been flying the flag, winning two more Major titles this year and spending most of the season as the world No. 1, until Alcaraz dethroned him after winning the US Open.

Sinner and Darderi are just two of nine Italian men in the world's top 100. And Darderi is now the Italian No. 4 behind Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti and Flavio Cobolli, so he could well make a case for joining the Davis Cup team.

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