SEGOVIA/STARNBERG, July 24, 2025
The XXXIX Open Castilla y León – Villa de El Espinar is entering its decisive phase, with Thursday’s action setting up an exciting quarterfinal line-up. However, the ATP Challenger Tour hard-court tournament in Segovia, Spain will crown a new champion this year, as the defending titleholder, Antoine Escoffier, was knocked out in a dramatic upset.
The biggest surprise of the day came in the second match on court, where eighth-seeded Frenchman Escoffier fell to rising Lithuanian talent Edas Butvilas. After taking the first set 6-3, Escoffier seemed on track, but Butvilas stormed back, handing the Frenchman a 6-1 blow in the second set. The 21-year-old Lithuanian repeated the scoreline in the decider, breaking Escoffier in all three of his service games to seal a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory in just over 100 minutes.
Edas Butvilas with the comeback
The 21 year old secures his third quarterfinal of the season with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Escoffier in Segovia!#ATPChallenger | @Tenis_Espinar pic.twitter.com/h6UhnRqgXf
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 24, 2025
Butvilas now advances to face Colombian qualifier Adria Soriano in the quarterfinals. Soriano booked his spot after a marathon battle against Italian alternate Raul Brancaccio, a match that featured three consecutive tiebreaks and lasted two hours and 47 minutes. The Colombian edged the first-set breaker 7-3, dropped the second 6-7(4), but fought back to clinch the match 7-6(4) in the third. It marked his fourth match in El Espinar, having come through the qualifying draw, and he’s already played 12 sets and spent nearly nine hours on court. So far in 2025, Soriano has contested 41 matches – 21 of them have gone to a deciding third set.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Johannus Monday also came through a grueling three-setter to secure his place in the last eight. Facing Spanish wild card Inaki Montes on Centre Court, Monday dropped the opening set 6-4 in 48 minutes. Montes took early leads in both of the next two sets, going up 3-1 each time, but Monday battled back to take the second 7-5 and surged through the final stretch to win the third 6-3, reeling off five consecutive games from 1-3 down.
Monday will now face Spain’s Nicolas Alvarez, who advanced without playing after Tunisia’s Aziz Dougaz withdrew ahead of their scheduled match. The native of Burgos now has a golden opportunity to reach the semifinals in his home region.
