In Griekspoor's first final since August 2023, when Daniel Evans beat the Dutchman on the hardcourt tournament in Washington, D.C., the 37th-ranked player on the ATP Tour couldn't shake off Darderi as the Italian went toe-to-toe with Griekspoor. The Dutchman maintained his tactic of aggressively approaching the net, but met a staunch opponent in 23-year-old Darderi.
It was Darderi who dealt the first blow as the Italian broke Griekspoor at 4-4 and survived two advantage points. Griekspoor returned the favour without hesitation and blew Darderi out of the water the very next game, re-breaking the Italian with a love game.
An intense outing between the two saw the first set go to a tiebreak, and Darderi would take advantage of a flailing Griekspoor. The Dutchman lost five of the last six points of the tiebreak and would have to concede the first set after 56 minutes.
Clearly frustrated by his play in Marrakech, Griekspoor set out to improve in the second set and got close to gaining an advantage early on, but two break points were not enough for the Dutchman to break Darderi in the third game. Griekspoor vastly improved on his own service games, winning 76% of his service points after four games - a good 9% higher than the numbers from the first set.
A close set saw Griekspoor jump to break point again in the eleventh game at a score a 5-5, but Darderi attacked the Dutchman's backhand continuously and fought his way to winning a pivotal sixth game. Griekspoor was on the verge of clinching a second tiebreak at a score a 40-0, but let his Italian opponent get back to deuce before eventually still getting a potentially life-saving second-set tiebreak.
Darderi clinched the first mini-break of the tiebreak after six points, forcing Griekspoor to play close to the net after handling a powerful approach throughout the opening five points. A physically challenged Griekspoor edged Darderi on his second service point, but an unforced error and an ace helped Darderi get to his first of three Championship points.
Two Championship points ended up being enough for Griekspoor as Darderi won the Marrakech tournament on a forehand winner. Darderi grabbed his second ATP title as Griekspoor missed out on his first since 2023 and third overall.
Darderi is the successor to fellow countryman Matteo Berrettini, who won the Marrakech tournament in 2024.
Monte Carlo
Tallon Griekspoor will feature next at the Monte Carlo Masters tournament. The 28-year-old Dutchman will open his tournament in Monaco on Tuesday with a match against Frenchman Arthur Fils.
Luciano Darderi will not feature in Monte Carlo.