It’s time for the semifinals of the 2025 ATP Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag. Last week’s Bastad champion, Luciano Darderi, is still flying out there, but faces a tricky foe in Camilo Ugo Carabelli. Meanwhile, Carlos Taberner has already eliminated No. 1 seed Francisco Cerundolo and now takes on No. 4 seed Damir Dzumhur. Who do you think will advance to the final?
ATP Umag Semifinal Predictions
Carlos Taberner vs Damir Dzumhur
Head-to-head: 1-1
Carlos Taberner already had a run in the Top 100 a few years ago, but quickly fell off and had to come back the hard way. If he is going to stick around this time, a tournament like this is the perfect opportunity. He ousted No. 1 seed Francisco Cerundolo in a marathon before earning a surprisingly clean victory over Jesper de Jong.
Meanwhile, Damir Dzumhur is reaching semifinals on the ATP Tour again after almost seven years. It was six Challenger titles that got him back on track last year before the Bosnian made the final four in Bucharest in April. He gets another shot now and is still as tricky to face as he was in the past. Taberner has that relentless quality to keep up with him and not get frustrated by all the cat-and-mouse scenarios, but it’s not a given at all.
Prediction: Taberner in 3
Luciano Darderi vs Camilo Ugo Carabelli
Head-to-head: Darderi 4-3
Luciano Darderi had his breakthrough moment during the Golden Swing of 2024, but then needed a bit of time to properly adjust his game to the reality of the ATP Tour. Now we can confidently say he’s been playing better than ever with the Italian claiming two titles on the main circuit this year, one of them in Bastad last week. Despite that, he doesn’t seem to be slowing down and was brilliant in his comeback against Dino Prizmic.
His matches against Camilo Ugo Carabelli have often been classics, but now he’s actually won three in a row without coming close to dropping a set. The Darderi forehand is a hammer and Ugo Carabelli can’t quite match that. He’ll need to rely on the Italian potentially not feeling too fresh and that’s a dangerous game to play right now.
Prediction: Darderi in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images
