On a cool, damp Sunday in Szczecin, Argentina’s Thiago Tirante rose above the conditions to deliver his best tennis of the week. The 24-year-old defeated Spain’s Pablo Llamas Ruiz 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the 32nd Invest In Szczecin Open, securing one of the biggest titles of his career and sealing his return to the Top 100. Born in La Plata, Tirante had previously peaked at No. 90 in the world. Thanks to his run at the clay-court event in northern Poland he will climb back to world No. 94, celebrating his sixth ATP Challenger career crown and first on European soil.
Llamas Ruiz, 22, is regarded as one of Spain’s brightest prospects. A technically sound baseliner, he captured his first Challenger title in Segovia in 2023 and reached the Estoril quarterfinals on the ATP Tour in 2024. In August he qualified for the US Open before falling in the opening round to Pablo Carreño Busta.
Both finalists came through tough draws. Llamas Ruiz beat Thiago Monteiro, Dimitar Kuzmanov, Vit Kopriva and Facundo Díaz Acosta, dropping sets in his last two matches. Tirante saw off Aleksey Vatutin, Jozef Kovalík, Vitaliy Sachko and Geoffrey Blancaneaux, also conceding sets to the Slovak and the Frenchman.
The championship match itself was far more one-sided. Although Tirante had to save a break point in the opening game, he quickly took control as the Spaniard grew impatient, committed errors and showed his frustration. The Argentinian broke in the eighth game and sealed the opening set. In the second set he was even more dominant, breaking serve in the third and seventh games and converting his first match point after one hour and 22 minutes.
“I played at a high level from the first to the last point,” Tirante said. “It hasn’t been easy. I’ve worked hard between tournaments, improving day by day, and today – in the most important moment -I showed my best tennis of the week.”
With the title in Szczecin, he collected €25,740 in prize money and 125 ATP Ranking points. “This is one of the biggest titles of my career, my first in Europe. I’m very happy to win it here in Szczecin,” he added.
Gaston Wins at Home in Rennes
The 19th edition of the Open Blot Rennes ended in style on Sunday with a sold-out Le Liberté Arena witnessing a high-quality ATP Challenger 100 final. Top seed Hugo Gaston held firm in front of his home crowd to defeat former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4. The 24-year-old Frenchman displayed poise and consistency, adding another notable win over the Swiss veteran after their memorable clash at Roland-Garros 2020. En route to the title Gaston beat Christoph Negritu, Enzo Couacaud, Eliakim Coulibaly and Clément Chidekh before overcoming Wawrinka to become the 19th winner of the tournament.
“It’s always a pleasure to play here. The atmosphere is incredible, the entrance gives you goosebumps – everything about the tournament is perfect,” Gaston said at the trophy ceremony. By lifting his fifth ATP Challenger Tour trophy he earned €20,630 in prize money and 100 ATP Ranking points.
“I congratulate Stan on his week and his amazing career — playing at 40 is huge. Thanks also to my team. We’re starting our collaboration with Tristan Lamasine with a title, which makes me very happy. And a big thank you to the crowd — playing in a full arena is fantastic.”
Making his first appearance in Rennes, Wawrinka was equally appreciative despite the defeat:
“I congratulate Hugo and his team. He had a great week and deserved the title. For me it was my first time here and, despite the loss, it was a very positive week. The emotions were exceptional thanks to the people here and the tournament. Everything off court is perfect for us players, the atmosphere is outstanding.