Challenger

Captain Kova: American Kovacevic wins biggest career title at Cap Cana Challenger

Aleksandar Kovacevic continued his best start to a season Sunday when he captured his biggest career title at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic.

The 26-year-old, who reached his first tour-level final last month in Montpellier, raced past Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-3 after just 71 minutes at the Republica Dominicana Open, Copa Cap Cana Ciudad Destino. Kovacevic dropped just six points behind his first serve and saved five of the six break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

The first EVER champion in Cap Cana 🏆#ATPChallenger | @kova_aleks pic.twitter.com/N8pMsyknLz

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) March 16, 2025

Kovacevic defeated four Top 100 players en route to the title, including top seed Alexandre Muller in a two-hour, 25-minute semi-final that went to a deciding-set tie-break.

“The conditions here are very, very difficult to be ready for,” Kovacevic said. “In my quarter-final match against [Daniel] Altmaier, I was cramping at the end of the match and that could be the difference. If I cramped a little bit harder, I wouldn't have been able to continue the match or I’d have had to retire probably.

“So today against Damir, you can tell that one of his biggest strengths is his conditioning and his fitness. He’s able to run all day. I wanted to be the best prepared I possibly could to be able to play a long match and I’m very happy with how I was able to finish in two sets. Playing in the hottest time of the day is not easy. He made me work, but I was very happy to finish in two sets and finish convincingly.”

Kovacevic is up 16 places to No. 78 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, closing in on his career-high No. 72. The American is a six-time Challenger champion, with two of those trophies coming this year. Kovacevic won the Oeiras Challenger in January, his third event of the year.

Galan wins second title of season
In other Challenger action, second seed Daniel Elahi Galan did not drop a set all week at the Challenger De Santiago - Dove Men Care, defeating top seed Thiago Monteiro 7-5, 6-3 in the final. Galan trailed 3-5 in the opening set before tallying seven consecutive games to move towards the title.

The 28-year-old Galan won his sixth Challenger title and second this season (Punta del Este).

Tour-veteran Herbert triumphs on home soil
Pierre-Hugues Herbert also collected his sixth Challenger crown, lifting the trophy at the Challenger Cherbourg La Manche in France. The 33-year-old ousted Jelle Sels 6-3, 6-4 in the championship match.

Kuzmanov spoils 17-year-old Cina’s hopes
Bulgarian Dimitar Kuzmanov returned to the winner’s circle at the Crete Challenger 2 in Greece, where he won his third Challenger title. In the final, the 31-year-old downed #NextGenATP Italian Federico Cina 6-4, 6-2. Cina, 17, was aiming to become the first player born in 2007 to win a Challenger title.