SKOPJE/STARNBERG, May 23, 2025
Qualifier Nerman Fatic and No. 3 seed Jay Clarke will battle for the title at the Macedonian Open 2025 ATP Challenger Tour tournament in Skopje after both players clinched hard-fought victories in their semi-final matches on Friday.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Fatic overcame eighth seed Mili Poljicak of Croatia in a three-set thriller, winning 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 after nearly three hours of intense clay-court action. Meanwhile, Britain’s Jay Clarke stunned top seed Hugo Dellien of Bolivia 7-6(4), 6-3 to advance to the final.
Fatic and Poljicak, close friends off the court, delivered a match full of twists and turns on Centre Court. Fatic secured the only break in the third game of the opening set and held his lead to take it 6-4. The second set saw more breaks — three from Poljicak — who frequently led and eventually edged it 7-5. In the decider, Poljicak broke early for a 3-1 advantage, but Fatic immediately responded, converting his sixth break point of the game to get back on serve. He later broke again in the ninth game and closed out the match for a place in his biggest career final — a remarkable feat given that he started the tournament in the qualifiers.
In the first semi-final of the day, Clarke held his nerve to dispatch Dellien. The opening set featured six breaks, three for each player, before being decided in a tiebreak. Dellien led 4-1, but Clarke surged back with six consecutive points to take the set 7-6(4). In the second set, Clarke capitalized on his sixth break point in the sixth game to take control and closed out the match 6-3.
Back in business
Jay Clarke takes down top seed Dellien to reach his first Challenger final since 2022!#ATPChallenger | @the_LTA pic.twitter.com/nWZ3PiJN8t
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) May 23, 2025
The singles final between Fatic and Clarke is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Centre Court. The champion will receive 75 ATP Ranking points and €12,980, while the runner-up will take home 44 points and €7,590.
Doubles final set
In the doubles draw, the Indian-Mexican pair of Sriram Balaji and Miguel Reyes-Varela booked their place in the final with a straight-sets win over Brazilians Marcelo Demoliner and Marcelo Zormann, 7-5, 6-3.
They will face Czech duo Andrew Paulson and Michael Vrbensky, who defeated India’s Bhambri Bolipalli and Sundar Prashanth 6-3, 6-3 in the second semi-final.
The doubles final will also be played Sunday at 10:00 a.m. on Court 5. The winning team will earn 75 ATP points and €4,540 in prize money, while the runners-up will collect 50 points and €2,670.
