Luciano Darderi's bid for a second consecutive ATP final fell short as the world No. 21 lost a dramatic semifinal at the Estoril ATP 250 to Belgium's Alexander Blockx 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 in two hours and 45 minutes.
The Italian second seed had numerous regrets after serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set before being broken back, and leading 4-0 in the decisive tie-break only to lose seven straight points.
Darderi had enjoyed a strong week on Estoril's clay courts, building on his runner-up finish at Bastad the previous week where he lost to Andrey Rublev.