OEIRAS/STARNBERG, May 16, 2025
Cristian Garin and Mitchell Krueger will contest the singles final of the Oeiras Open 5, the fifth and final ATP Challenger Tour tournament organized by the Portuguese Tennis Federation in 2025 at the Jamor Tennis Complex.
The first to book his spot in Sunday’s final was Mitchell Krueger. The 31-year-old US-American from Texas, ranked World No. 151, reached his ninth Challenger final — and first since May 2023 — with a commanding 6-4, 6-2 victory over Lebanon’s top player Hady Habib. The match lasted just 75 minutes.
Typically more comfortable on faster courts, Krueger reached his second ATP Challenger final on clay and his first on European clay — a timely confidence boost ahead of the Roland-Garros qualifying rounds. In arguably his best performance of the week, Krueger dominated a previously undefeated opponent, displaying an aggressive style filled with net approaches and deft drop shots. He converted all four of his break points and opened up 4-0 leads in both sets, never letting his foot off the gas.
Krueger’s efficient day at the office wrapped up around 2:30 PM, giving him ample time for recovery. For Cristian Garin, however, it was a very different story.
The World No. 153 from Chile left the court close to 6 PM after an exhausting three-hour and four-minute semifinal battle against Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga, the last remaining seeded player in the tournament. Garin dropped the first set — his first of the tournament — in a 90-minute tiebreak and had to claw his way back throughout the remainder of the match. He overcame a 2-0 deficit in the second set and came from behind again in the decider, ultimately emerging victorious through sheer resilience and determination.
Cristian Garín wins a fantastic 3h03 battle with Roman Burruchaga 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 to reach his second #ATPChallenger final seven years after being a runner-up in Lisbon.
The former top 20 will play for the title with Mitchell Krueger. pic.twitter.com/IzEibULp4x
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) May 16, 2025
Despite not being seeded, Garin is by far the most accomplished player in the Oeiras Open 5 field. A former world No. 17, he owns five ATP Tour titles (including one ATP 500) and has reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals and Roland-Garros fourth round (2021). He also boasts three Masters 1000 quarterfinal appearances — two of them on clay — and is widely recognized as a clay-court specialist, having won all but one of his finals on the surface.
Now on a nine-match winning streak, Garin is aiming for his second Challenger title in three weeks after lifting the trophy in Mauthausen, Austria, where he also defeated Burruchaga in the semis. Garin holds five Challenger titles from eight finals.
This will be the second career meeting between Krueger and Garin. Their first clash came in 2018 at the Lyon Challenger, just days after Garin had reached the final of the prestigious Lisbon Belém Open. On that occasion, Garin edged out Krueger 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 — a season in which he went on to win three Challenger titles and reach six finals.
