Marin Cilic’s comeback leads to five Challenger moments to remember from 2025 | ATP tour | Tennis

Challenger

Cilic’s comeback leads to five Challenger moments from 2025 that you will never forget

Nava’s dominance and Burruchaga’s marathon victory are among the highlights
December 16, 2025

From Marin Cilic’s record-breaking comeback to Emilio Nava’s dominant run and Mark Lajal’s emotional triumph, ATPTour.com highlights five unforgettable moments from the 2025 ATP Challenger season.

Cilic returns to Challengers and becomes the oldest grass champion
After two knee operations in the past two years, Cilic made an emphatic return to the ATP Challenger circuit. At the Girona Challenger in March, the Tour veteran claimed his first Challenger title since 2007, surpassing Andy Murray for the longest period (17 years, 10 months) between Challenger trophies.

“You have to accept that I’m not in the Top 100 or Top 50 anymore, so you can’t just pick whatever tournament you want to play. It’s time to put your head down, work, get back to the Challengers and grind it out,” the former No. 3 told ATPTour.com in April. “That was the first step for me and then it’s putting the mentality in, still having the motivation to compete with young players, to compete and play well.”

🏆 Rijeka 2007
🏆Girona 2025

At 17 years and 10 months, @cilic_marin now holds the record for the longest gap between Challenger Tour titles!#ATPCchallenger | @atptour pic.twitter.com/UOcnvyGeHZ

— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) March 30, 2025

Cilic broke another record of Murray’s at the Nottingham Challenger. At 36 years and eight months, the 2017 Wimbledon finalist became the oldest Challenger title on the grass court, a feat Murray had achieved just two years earlier at the same tournament. The Croatian, who reached the fourth round of Wimbledon, finished the year at number 75 in the PIF ATP rankings.

Nava experiences a month of dominance
For a whole month, Nava was unstoppable. The American built a 19-match winning streak and had won 35 consecutive sets, one that could not match David Goffin’s 2014 Challenger record. Nava had won three consecutive titles, triumphing on clay in Asuncion, Concepcion and Sarasota.

Nava reached the Tallahassee final with a one-set lead, moving closer to Guillermo Coria (2000) and Tallon Greekpoor (2021) as the only players to win four Challenger titles in as many consecutive tournaments, but Chris Rodesch spoiled Nava’s hopes with a three-set win.

Lajal saves five MPs in Bloomfield Hills and dedicates the title to his late grandfather
The Estonian delivered a courageous performance to dramatically fend off five championship points, winning the Bloomfield Hills Challenger and capturing his second ATP Challenger level title. That same day, thousands of miles away in Estonia, Lajal’s grandfather, Tõnu, was buried.

Lajal wrote an Instagram post dedicating his biggest career trophy to his grandfather, who closely followed the 22-year-old’s career. Lajal defeated Andres Martin 6-7(7), 7-5, 7-6(9) in a three-hour, 22-minute final before raising the trophy and looking towards the sky.

“It was a lot of fun to do it because they had a ‘send away’ with our family in Estonia on the day of the final,” Lajal told ATPTour.com. “I think everything was perfect timing.”

As Nadal watches, Rincon completes the complete victory over the Rafa Nadal Academy
Daniel Rincon was leading 2-0 in his second round match at the ATP Challenger event hosted by Movistar at the Rafa Nadal Academy, and he suddenly froze. The Spaniard saw Rafael Nadal himself watching from the stands. “I saw him watching and I lost six games in a row,” Rincon said with a laugh. “I got a little tight there.”

The nerves did not derail Rincon for long. The 22-year-old regrouped, won the match and went on to capture the trophy at the place where he trained and graduated in 2021. While participating in the final, Rincon again saw former world number 1 Nadal watching, although the match was almost halfway through, so Rincon “didn’t have much time to think about it”.

Daniel Rincon celebrates his victory at Movistar’s Rafa Nadal Open.” style=”width:100%” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/09/17/21/32/rincon-manacorch-2025.jpg”>
^{Daniel Rincon wins the Rafa Nadal Open against Movistar. Credit: Alvaro Diaz/Rafa Nadal Open by Movistar}

Burruchaga survives the seven-hour Sunday to claim the Piracicaba crown
Roman Andres Burruchaga endured a marathon in the Piracicaba Challenger on Sunday, spending almost seven hours on the track in one day, as heavy rains all week postponed several races.

Burruchaga won a three-hour, two-minute semi-final against home hope Gustavo Heide before returning to the court to win the second-longest Challenger final in history (three hours and 45 minutes). The Argentinian saved a championship point and outlasted compatriot Facundo Mena 7-6(8), 6-7(6), 7-6(4) to lift the Brasil Tennis Challenger trophy.