SZCZECIN/STARNBERG, September 12, 2025
The 32nd edition of the Invest In Szczecin Open served up as much unpredictability off court as on. Thursday’s play at the clay courts of the ATP Challenger Tour 125 event was dominated by driving rain that forced a wholesale reshuffle of the schedule, relocations to side courts and, by evening, a complete halt to both singles and doubles action.
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Organisers were already on the back foot after morning inspections deemed the centre court unplayable. In a scramble, they moved matches to the outer courts to keep the tournament alive. Early-arriving fans were rewarded with a shock: Frenchman Geoffrey Blancaneaux sent fourth seed Daniel Elahi Galan packing 6-4, 6-3, playing solidly and capitalising on his opponent’s errors.
Last year’s finalist Andrea Pellegrino advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Rudolf Molleker, whose leg injury in the opening set left him unable to mount a fightback.
One of the day’s longest and most intense battles saw Ukraine’s Vitaliy Sachko claw back from a set down to outlast Portugal’s Tiago Pereira 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4 after two hours and 37 minutes of grinding rallies.
The most dramatic cliff-hanger, though, belonged to Thiago Tirante and Jozef Kovalik. The Argentine was up 6-3, 4-6, 6-5 with two match points on Kovalik’s serve when a torrential downpour swept over the courts. Play was abandoned for the day, with the conclusion set for Friday at 1 p.m.
