Rafael Jodar vs Luciano Darderi Prediction 5/13/2026 Today’s Tennis Picks

Rafael Jodar faces home favorite Luciano Darderi in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Rome Masters. The match is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13. Here’s our Rafael Jodar vs Luciano Darderi prediction. This preview will also include a Rafael Jodar vs Luciano Darderi pick.

Rafael Jodar vs Luciano Darderi Preview

Rafael Jodar is coming off a straight sets win over fellow Next Gen star Learner Tien. The match took 17 games to decide as Jodar dominated the American to win their second career meeting. Jodar won the first set 6-1 in just half an hour. The second set was slightly more competitive, but it was Jodar who rallied from a break down to complete a 6-1, 6-4 win.

In the victory, Jodar hit 10 winners and 19 unforced errors. Jodar landed 66% of first serves in play and won 67% of first serve points (22/33). Jodar won 65% of second serve points (11/17) and was broken once in the match. Jodar is through to his second Masters 1000 quarterfinal and both have come this swing. He reached the same stage at his home tournament in Madrid at the end of April, where he lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. Jodar has compiled a 15-2 record on clay ahead of this quarterfinal in Rome.

Luciano Darderi pulled the rabbit out of the hat in the fourth round as he stunned Alexander Zverev in an epic. Staring at a near-certain defeat at 1-6, 3-5 down, the Italian broke back just when Zverev was serving for the match. The drama unfolded in the second set tiebreak, where Darderi saved four match points and won the breaker 12-10. The final set was one-way traffic as Darderi secured a 6-0 set to progress.

In the victory, Darderi hit 4 aces and 4 double faults. Darderi landed 52% of first serves in play and won 80% of first serve points (35/44). Darderi won 46% of second serve points (19/41) and saved three of seven break points in the match. This will be Darderi’s first ATP Masters quarterfinal and it will be on home soil at the Italian Open. Darderi has compiled a 13-6 record on clay ahead of this quarterfinal match in Rome.

Rafael Jodar vs Luciano Darderi Head-To-Head

Jodar and Darderi have never faced off at any level, so this will be their first meeting.

Rafael Jodar vs Luciano Darderi Prediction

Jodar is in exceptional form at the moment and he’s almost certainly a future star. He’s not far off from breaking into the top 20. But I still think the line feels a little too reactionary after his recent spell of good form this swing. Darderi is no slouch on clay. He’s also playing on home soil and is coming off a comeback run that could flip a tournament run. If Darderi recovers reasonably well after the Zverev match, the value argument gets stronger and Darderi would love to take command of points.

Nur Said's Pick: Darderi in three sets