Luciano Darderi pulled out all the stops at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Thursday evening to keep alive his bid for a second consecutive title.
The 23-year-old Italian, fresh from his title run in Bastad last week, survived a quarter-final scare from #NextGenATP Dino Prizmic to prevail 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in Umag. Darderi struggled to cope with the Croatian wild card's dogged defence and blistering attack in the early stages, but he ultimately drew on his superior clay-court pedigree to reach his sixth tour-level semi-final on the surface after two hours, 12 minutes.
Finishing with a flourish 🤌
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 24, 2025
The semi-finals in Umag is callling for No. 2 seed @Lucianodarderi_! @CroatiaOpenUmag | #CroatiaOpen pic.twitter.com/boOOXbz78P
“I was a little bit nervous and tired after winning last week,” said Darderi. “In the first set he played really well… I had to stay focused. Sometimes it’s a little bit difficult but I am trying to do my best on court. I will try to do my best to make the final.”
The 19-year-old Prizmic was aiming to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final, and showed glimpses of his best tennis in a lights-out opening set, during which he won 83 per cent (10/12) of first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Darderi, a three-time ATP Tour champion, was full of praise for the Croatian.
“I have to say congratulations to Dino, he’s just 19 years old and already an amazing player,” said Darderi. “It’s the first time we met and I hope he’s going to be Top 10 really soon, so I think Croatia is in good hands.”
Despite falling short, Prizmic can reflect on a stellar surge during the past three months. With consecutive ATP Challenger Tour titles in Zagreb and Bratislava followed by back-to-back finals in Milan and San Marino, the 19-year-old boasts a 20-3 record at all levels since May.
Prizmic, who is fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, is aiming to debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in December.
By extending his winning streak to seven matches, Darderi set an Umag semi-final with third seed Camilo Ugo Carabelli, who led Pablo Llamas Ruiz 6-4, 5-2 before the Spaniard was forced to retire due to injury.
Ugo Carabelli reaches second consecutive SF:
Ugo Carabelli is into his fourth ATP Tour semi-final of the season and is this week up five spots to a career-high No. 46 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
Carlos Taberner backed up his statement win over top seed and defending champion Francisco Cerundolo by moving past Bastad finalist Jesper de Jong 7-5, 6-3 in the pair's maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash. The Spaniard will contest his first ATP Tour semi-final against fourth seed Damir Dzumhur, who rallied past qualifier Titouan Droguet 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Dzumhur held an 0-3 record in Umag quarter-finals prior to Thursday's clash with Droguet, but he cracked the code with a thrilling comeback to reach his 10th tour-level semi-final.
