Francisco Cerundolo vs Luciano Darderi Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Mutua Madrid Open

Prediction published on 26/04/2026, 14:45  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 27/04/2026 at 10:30 in ATP Mutua Madrid Open Predictions

Francisco Cerundolo is hoping for another deep run in the Mutua Madrid Open. The 16th seed faces a familiar opponent in round three of this outdoor clay court tournament. He takes on 18th seed Luciano Darderi. Time for our match prediction.

Cerundolo has reached the quarter-finals in Madrid for the past two years. He made it to the semi-finals last year, losing to Casper Ruud. He has already won the Buenos Aires clay court tournament this year and also got to the last four in Santiago and the quarter-finals in Munich.

So far in Madrid. he's beaten Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets. This is his sixth match against Darderi (all played on clay) and he leads 3-2. Three of the last four have been won by Cerundolo, most recently the Buenos Aires final.

Darderi is seeded below his opponent but above him in the live rankings. He's 19th compared to his opponent's 27th but that's because Cerundolo is defending the points earned from last year.

This is the first time that Darderi has made it past round two in this tournament. Aside from the Buenos Aires final. he has also won the Santiago title this year. His one match here so far saw him beat his opponent's brother, Juan Manuel Cerundolo in straight sets.

We tip Francisco Cerundolo to win this.