Tabilo's tears after Darderi win in Chengdu: ‘Just keep rolling with it’

  • Posted: Sep 19, 2025

A trip to China has helped Alejandro Tabilo breathe belated life into his 2025 season.

The former No. 19 player in the PIF ATP Rankings booked his quarter-final spot at the Chengdu Open on Friday afternoon with an impressive 6-4, 6-3 victory against second seed Luciano Darderi. After a testing first eight months of 2025, during which he struggled with form and also suffered wrist and abdominal injuries, the Chilean was visibly emotional after sinking Darderi to reach his first tour-level quarter-final since last October.

“It’s been a very tough year for me, so I’m just happy to get the rhythm back a little bit, and hopefully this is the start again,” said Tabilo, who is 7-13 for the season, in his on-court interview. “Just keep rolling with it, but very happy with the win.”

The two-time ATP Tour champion Tabilo showed signs of his best form upon arriving in China earlier this month, when he reached an ATP Challenger Tour final in Guangzhou. In Chengdu, he won two qualifying matches against Te Rigele and Lloyd Harris, respectively, before notching his first tour-level win since Roland Garros by dispatching Jordan Thompson in the first round.

Chasing just his second Top 50 victory of 2025 after he defeated Novak Djokovic in April in Monte-Carlo, the 28-year-old Tabilo outhit Darderi by 32 winners to 21 in Friday’s clash. He converted both break points he earned and saved all four he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to improve to 2-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Italy’s Darderi.

“I think it was just physical. I came from [three] matches in a row [here] and played a Challenger last week, so it’s just been recovery and just being able to hold it off,” reflected Tabilo. “I knew Luciano plays really well, so I just had to be there, be solid, and I’m just so happy I was able to get through this with the team here supporting me.”

Tabilo will next face Christopher O’Connell in Chengdu after the Australian downed Zhou Yi 6-2, 6-4. In the final match of the day, Brandon Nakashima ended Chinese interest in the singles draw by ending #NextGenATP favourite Shang Juncheng’s title defence with a 7-5, 6-3 victory.

The fourth-seeded Nakashima is now into his personal-best seventh ATP Tour quarter-final of the season. His opponent there will be Marcos Giron, who defeated eighth seed Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-4.

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