"He hasn't changed as a person, despite his success," Darderi praises Alcaraz before facing him at the US Open

Luciano Darderi is set to take on Carlos Alcaraz in the third round of the US Open. On the professional tour, the two have never faced each other.

But he remembers their clash when they were teenagers, and the Italian had no shortage of compliments for the Spaniard. In an interview with the ATP, he stated: "We've known each other since we were 14-15 years old, when we played the semifinals of a tournament in France.

I lost to him 7-5 in the third set. It was a European competition, Italy against Spain. That was our last meeting.

I remember he was already playing wonderfully at that time. He had just started training with Ferrero.

I remember he told me: 'Now I'm going to train with Ferrero,' and a week later, he beat Gaio, a player who was once ranked 120th in the world.

Then, at 16, he started playing even better, and since then, he has never stopped. He deserves it; he's a good guy.

I love his style of play; he's really fun. Playing against him on this court is going to be incredible."

When he won his first ATP Tour title in Cordoba in 2024, Darderi was pleasantly surprised to receive a congratulatory message from Alcaraz.

He stated: "A first title is something special at the start of a career; that's what he wrote to me.

So I appreciated him sending me that message. It meant so much to me that he thought of it, because it's not easy when you've already achieved so much and you're number one.

We had lost touch a bit because of his rapid rise, and we played different tournaments.

He's an amazing guy. It's really great because, whether he's world number one or number two, he remains the same."

The two will face off this Friday on Arthur Ashe Court at 5:30 PM French time.