Nava notches third straight Challenger title; Cilic stopped short in Madrid final

Emilio Nava is enjoying the form of his life on the ATP Challenger Tour.

The 23-year-old claimed his third consecutive title at that level Sunday when he triumphed at the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open in Florida. Nava, seeded fifth, downed Liam Draxl 6-2, 7-6(2) in the final.

Nava is on a 15-match winning streak, including title runs at the South American clay events in Asuncion, Paraguay and Concepcion, Chile. The California native is just the second American to win three clay-court Challenger titles in the same season. Tristan Boyer, who is the same age as Nava, accomplished the feat last year.

Nava and Borna Coric are the only players this season with three Challenger trophies.

A five-time Challenger champion, Nava is up 29 places to No. 140 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Last April, he reached a career high No. 124.

Collignon continues breakthrough season
Another standout player on the ATP Challenger Tour this year is Belgian Raphael Collignon, who captured his second trophy of 2025. The 23-year-old won the Atkinsons Monza Open, having defeated Ukraine’s Vitaliy Sachko 6-3, 7-5 in the final.

^{Raphael Collignon wins the Atkinsons Monza Open. Credit: Francesco Panunzio}

“It was a difficult tournament with a lot of great players. I just tried to focus on my game, take it match by match,” Collignon said. “Sometimes some tough battles, but I tried to play my best tennis when it mattered and I played good all week. I’m very happy to take the title. I was confident in myself and I think that made the difference.”

Following his triumph, Collignon is at a career-high No. 83 in the PIF ATP Rankings. He won the Pau Challenger in February and finished runner-up in Lugano the following week, falling to Coric in the final, which marked the Croatian’s first of three consecutive crowns.

Majchrzak marches past Cilic in three-set final
Marin Cilic, former World No. 3, was aiming for his second title across his past three events, but was outlasted in the final by Kamil Majchrzak at the Grand Prix by Mercedes Benz Open Comunidad de Madrid.

Majchrzak overcame a lengthy rain delay and the 2014 US Open champion Cilic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to secure his eighth Challenger title, half of which have come in the past 14 months. Majchrzak is now tied with former No. 57 Michal Przysiezny for the most Challenger titles among Polish players.

^{Kamil Majchrzak (right) and Marin Cilic at the Madrid Challenger trophy ceremony. Credit: Alberto Simon}

The 29-year-old Majchrzak, who is No. 91 in the PIF ATP Rankings, makes his return to the Top 100 for the first time since January 2023.

Read More on Cilic's injury 'lifesaver' & circling back to Challengers

Meligeni Alves saves 2 MPs in opener, goes on to title
Felipe Meligeni Alves showed his fighting spirit en route to winning the Mexico City Open. The Brazilian, 27, saved two match points in the opening round against Beibit Zhukayev and survived a deciding-set tie-break in the semi-finals against 2022 champion Marc-Andrea Huesler. But it was more straightforward in the championship match for Meligeni Alves, who raced past Luka Pavlovic 6-3, 6-3 to cap a memorable week.

^{Felipe Meligeni Alves embraces his wife Gabriela after the Mexico City Open final. Credit: ImagenShop}

Meligeni Alves did not face a break point in the final, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Having also won the Merida, Mexico Challenger title last month, Meligeni Alves is at a career-high No. 119 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

"I'm very happy, two titles in four weeks, it's never happened to me before," said Meligeni Alves. "I'm very grateful to all the people who came to support me. It was very nice, a beautiful atmosphere. Coming out with the title here at such a big and special tournament is very important to me."

Did You Know?
In 2024, the Mexico City Open was named Tournament of the Year for the ATP Challenger Tour.