Taberner and Darderi into the final in Umag

Posted by TennisPhotoWorld on 26 Jul 2025

When Bert van der Helm was asked what to do on a day when nothing goes right and all the balls either are too deep or end up in the net, his answer was brief but powerful: ‘nothing, just stop that day and continue tomorrow.’ Van der Helm was a twelve-time Dutch champion in table tennis (in singles, and he won many titles in doubles and mixed play as well). For Damir Dzumhur, stopping was of course not an option in his semifinal match against the Spaniard Carlos Taberner, but it was one of those days where nothing worked. The Bosnian was on the brink of despair and never really got into the match. Taberner, on the other hand, played the same solid game we have seen from him all week. The little opposition he faced must have surprised him, as Dzumhur’s enormous number of unnecessary mistakes made it not really difficult for him. He won the first set 6-2 and received his first match point at 5-0 in the second set on Dzumhur’s serve. The Bosnian managed to save that one, but on his own serve, he was successful and defeated him 6-2, 6-1 to reach the final.
In the final, he will likely face more resistance, as he will meet Luciano Darderi. If there is one player who demonstrates the adage that sport is emotion, it is the Italian Darderi. In this case, sincere and positive emotions drove him into the arms of his family and team after his victory, with the final place being celebrated exuberantly. It is also no small feat to win an ATP title (Bastad, Sweden) within one week and reach a final with a chance for another title. While Carlos Taberner achieved his victory with relative ease, Luciano was put to work seriously by the Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli. The first set was very close, requiring a tiebreak to decide it. Although Darderi fell behind by a minibreak, he managed to win it (8-6). In the second set, the Italian broke the Argentine once and held onto that break, securing his place in the final (7-6, 6-3).