Luciano Darderi produced the biggest result of his career on the Rome evening when he defeated Rafael Jodar 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-0 to advance to the semifinals of the Masters 1000 event.

The 24-year-old Italian’s fourth-round win became a late-night saga after an earlier rain delay and then an unusual smoke stoppage. Play was halted when smoke from the Coppa Italia soccer final 500 meters away drifted into the stadium while Darderi was serving at 5-6, 0-15 in the first set. The players and the electronic line-calling system experienced visibility problems and the match was temporarily suspended.

Once play resumed, Darderi eked out the first set in a tiebreak. He then surrendered a 3-0 lead in the second and squandered a pair of match points with Jodar serving at 4-5, allowing the 19-year-old Spaniard to force a decider.

In the third set, Darderi held in the opening game and then broke again after a marathon 28-minute second game to lead 2-0. From that point he took control and closed out the victory a few minutes after 2 a.m.

The win moves Darderi into his 10th career ATP semifinal, but his first at Masters 1000 level; his previous nine semifinals had come at ATP 250 tournaments. He also becomes the 10th Italian to reach a Masters 1000 semifinal since the tier began in 1990.

“I think this is the best win of my career because of the crowd and everything here in Rome. It’s my first time in the semifinals—it’s a dream to play here,” Darderi said after the match.

“It was difficult because we started around 11, the court was really slow, and Rafa is an amazing player—so young, just 19 years old. I had my chances in the second set, but then he played just amazing.

“I just kept fighting, and I’m very happy about that.”

Awaiting the No. 18-seeded Darderi in the semifinals on Friday will be No. 23-seeded Casper Ruud, who earlier defeated No. 13-seeded Karen Khachanov 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 to reach his 10th Masters 1000 semifinal.

The Internazionali BNL d’Italia reaches its semifinal stage with compelling matchups that blend form, history and momentum.

Jannik Sinner arrives on a long run that began after a defining autumn in 2023 when he recorded first wins over Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic and led Italy to its first Davis Cup in nearly 50 years. That stretch transformed him; wins over Sinner since the fall of 2023 carry more weight than earlier victories. Andrey Rublev stands between Sinner and a place in the last four. Rublev is 3-7 against Sinner, though two of those Rublev wins, in 2020 and 2022, came via retirement and can be viewed differently. His lone full victory came in a three-set match in Cincinnati in 2024. Sinner’s recent results include a dominant showing at Roland Garros last year (6-1, 6-3, 6-4) and a current streak of 26 straight wins. Rublev, fresh from a runner-up finish in Barcelona and with three wins in Rome, can pressure with heavy groundstrokes, but Sinner’s present form makes him the clear favorite. Winner: Sinner

Coco Gauff’s Rome week has been a test of endurance. The 2025 runner-up has survived three three-set matches, including tense comebacks and a late resistance against Mirra Andreeva. “It was a lot,” Gauff said after one of her wins earlier this week. Sorana Cirstea, enjoying a late-career surge and planning to retire at the end of 2026, arrives in excellent form: 27-7 on the year, a third-round upset of top seed Aryna Sabalenka and straight-set wins over Linda Noskova and Jelena Ostapenko. “I’m enjoying every single week,” Cirstea says of her last go-round on tour. “I’m coming from a place where I really have no pressure.” Cirstea is 0-3 against Gauff, and seeded well below her, but recent three-set encounters between them suggest this could be tight. Winner: Gauff

On the other side of the draw, Elina Svitolina earned her semifinal by rallying past Elena Rybakina in three hard-fought sets and must now face a newly confident Iga Swiatek. Swiatek leads their head-to-head 4-2 and is 2-0 on clay, including a Rome meeting five years ago that she won 6-2, 7-5. Svitolina has retooled her game in 2026, attacking more and compiling a 26-7 season with a title and a return to the Top 10; she also beat Swiatek in three sets at Indian Wells. Clay questions remain, but this promises to be a tactical and physical test.

Andy Murray will join Jack Draper’s coaching group for the grass-court season, the young Brit announced as he parted ways with Jamie Delgado. The move arrives while Draper deals with another injury setback and prepares to return to competition.

“I am very grateful for everything Jamie Delgado has done for me over these past six months. He is a world-class coach and a great man,” Draper said in a statement.

“In the interim, I will continue to be supported by the excellent team at the LTA, with the addition of Andy Murray, who will be supporting me throughout the grass-court season.”

Murray was Draper’s childhood idol and the two were teammates in Davis Cup in 2023. Murray retired in 2024 and spent six months as a coach in 2025 before parting ways with that player in May. “Honestly, I would coach again but probably not right now,” Murray said in April. A short-term role with Draper for grass fits Murray’s stated preference to limit travel.

Draper has not set a firm date to return but is scheduled to play the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club before Wimbledon if recovered. Murray’s presence offers grass-court experience: he won Olympic gold at Wimbledon in 2012 and claimed multiple Grand Slam titles, including Wimbledon, becoming the first British man to win the tournament since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray can also share insights from long injury battles and comebacks. He returned to competitive tennis after hip resurfacing surgery in 2019 and has navigated pressure at the top of the game, reaching world No. 1 and winning two Olympic gold medals and three Grand Slams during an era dominated by the sport’s biggest figures.

Draper’s run of fitness issues has been persistent. After a nine-month layoff with a bone bruise in his arm last year, he skipped the Australian Open and returned to the tour in February. His best result in 2026 to date was a run to the Indian Wells quarterfinals, including a win over Novak Djokovic. A knee injury sustained in Barcelona forced him out of the remainder of the clay season, including Roland Garros. “As gutting as it is to miss another slam, the advice is not to rush straight back into playing five set tennis on clay,” Draper shared on Instagram.

“Off the back of the arm injury I sustained last year, I’ve been restricted with my training and by giving myself the time to heal and build, I can be the player I want to be out there once again. See you soon!”