ISTANBUL/STARNBERG, September 8, 2025
Alex Molcan was crowned champion of the Istanbul Challenger TED Open. The 27-year-old Slovakian, who entered the main draw of the ATP Challenger Tour hard-court event as an alternate, beat Nicola Mejia of Colombia 7-6(9), 6-2 two hours and 12 minutes in Sunday’s singles final.
Molcan reigns again
The Slovak secures his second consecutive Challenger title with a 7-6(9), 6-2 victory over Mejia in Istanbul#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/diwlRsCWPA
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 7, 2025
Molcan benefited in the first round from the retirement of Russian qualifier Ivan Nedelko and advanced to the championship match with wins over No. 3 seed Martin Landaluce from Spain, Abdullah Shelbayh of Jordan and Greek Stefanos Sakellaridis.
He earned his fourth ATP Challenger career title, his second of the season following his triumph at the Genesis Trading Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria last month. Molcan took away from Turkey a prize purse of $14,200 as well as 75 ATP Ranking points.
The 77th edition of the Istanbul Challenger TED Open, Turkey’s most prestigious and longest-standing tennis event, was held at the Ted Sports Club from September 1 to 7, 2025. The tournament offered a total prize pool of $100,000.
