AUGSBURG, August 22, 2025
Two veterans of the ATP Challenger Tour will go head to head in Saturday’s singles final of the Schwaben Open by Great2Stay, as Cedrik-Marcel Stebe will take on Alexander Ritschard for the title in Augsburg, Germany.
On Friday, Stebe delivered a commanding performance against Zdenek Kolar, who arrived in Bavaria fresh off his ATP Challenger Tour title run at the Genesis Trading Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria last week. After both players held serve early, the 34-year-old German took control with four straight games to claim the first set. Stebe maintained his momentum in the second, racing to a 5-0 lead with clever variation and relentless pressure.
Kolar managed one late hold and a brief break of serve, but the World No. 660 quickly regrouped, firing an ace to close out a 6-2, 6-3 victory in 85 minutes.
Rolling back the years
34-year-old Cedrik-Marcel Stebe advances to his first Challenger final since 2022, beating Kolar 6-2, 6-3 in Augsburg#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/K461TL9ffV
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) August 22, 2025
“I felt really good from the warm-up today,” Stebe said afterwards. “Everything clicked right from the start. At the end, it got a little tighter, but that’s just because I haven’t had too many of these situations at this level in recent years due to injuries. My opponent came here with a winning streak, so I prepared thoroughly. Now I’m just really excited for tomorrow’s final and hopefully to win my first Challenger title on German soil.”
Ritschard completes double duty
Meanwhile, weather disruptions had forced Ritschard into double duty. After finishing his rain-delayed quarterfinal against No. 2 seed Christoph Negritu with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win, the 31-year-old Swiss returned to Center Court under bright sunshine to fight past Henri Squire from Germany 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
In a high-tempo contest with exciting baseline rallies, Ritschard was more clinical in seizing his chances. He claimed the opening set with a break in the sixth game before Squire struck back to level the match in the second. The deciding set, however, belonged to Ritschard, who broke twice and sealed victory with an ace after just under two hours of play.
Doubles final to feature local interest
In doubles, only one finalist pair is confirmed after the weather delays earlier in the week. No. 2 seeds Filip Duda and Jiri Barnat – the latter fresh off a 2. Bundesliga Süd title with TC Augsburg – defeated Bolivia’s Boris Arias and Juan Carlos Prado Angelo 6-4, 6-3 to book their spot in the championship match. Their opponents will be decided on Saturday, when No. 4 seeds Patrick Zahraj and Tim Ruehl face fellow Germans Daniel Masur and Benito Sanchez Martinez in the second semifinal.
