Luciano Darderi has confirmed he will go under the knife in the next couple of days to address an issue that has contributed to him feeling unwell in recent months.
The 14th seed was beaten in the second round of the French Open on Thursday by Francisco Comesana, who battled to a 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win in a tense encounter. During the fifth set, Darderi got involved in a heated exchange with a member of the crowd. After hitting his racket on the court and hearing jeers from the crowd, he complained to the umpire about some of the spectators’ behaviour. After that, he walked towards those heckling him, which prompted the umpire to come out of his chair to defuse the situation.
“He (Comesana) played a great match, even though he hadn’t been feeling very confident lately,” the Italian said afterwards.
“I’ve had an excellent season on clay; it’s not easy to get here when you’re even a little mentally tired. But it was a four-hour battle, 6-4 in the fifth set—I’m happy with the level.” He added.
Daderi has enjoyed a solid clay season leading into Roland Garros. In Rome, he defeated Alexander Zverev en route to reaching his first Masters 1000 semi-final at the age of 24. He also reached the semi-finals of a 250 event in Marrakech and the quarter-finals of a 500 event in Hamburg.
Following his latest match, Darderi has confirmed he will take a brief break from the Tour to have surgery on his tonsils, which he describes as a ‘simple procedure.’ He still plans to play at Wimbledon but is unsure about his participation in other grasscourt events this season.
“I’ve needed tonsil surgery for a year now; I’m always sick—I even had a fever just now,” he explained.
“I don’t mention it before tournaments because I don’t like to make it public, but I wasn’t supposed to play against (Sebastian) Ofner either (in the first round of the French Open).
“I’m having the surgery in the next few days, and I’ll be out for ten days or so—we’ll see how it goes. I’ll be at Wimbledon; we’ll see if I can make it back to Queen’s or Mallorca. It’s a simple procedure, but I still need to rest.
“Since it’s grass season, I decided to do it now because I often get sick during tournaments—I’m under pressure, and my immune system weakens.”
Darderi has won five ATP titles so far in his career.
