SZCZECIN/STARNBERG, September 14, 2025
On a cool, damp Sunday in Szczecin, Argentina’s Thiago Tirante rose above the conditions and the pressure to deliver his best tennis of the week. The 24-year-old overpowered Spain’s Pablo Llamas Ruiz 6–3, 6–2 in the final of the 32nd Invest In Szczecin Open, capturing the biggest title of his career and sealing his return to the Top 100.
Born in La Plata, Tirante had previously reached a career-high of No. 90 in the rankings. Thanks to his run in Poland he will climb back to World No. 94, adding a sixth ATP Challenger career crown to his résumée, his first on European soil. Earlier this year he had won in Córdoba; overall, the Argentinian has now collected five Challenger trophies plus this latest triumph.
Llamas Ruiz, 22, is one of Spain’s most promising young players. A deep-court, technically gifted baseliner, he lifted his first Challenger title in Segovia in 2023 and reached the Estoril quarterfinals on the ATP Tour in 2024. Last August he came through US Open qualifying before falling in the opening round to Pablo Carreno Busta.
Both players had battled hard to reach the Szczecin final. Llamas Ruiz defeated Thiago Monteiro, Dimitar Kuzmanov, Vit Kopriva and Facundo Díaz Acosta, dropping a set in his last two matches. Tirante beat Aleksey Vatutin, Jozef Kovalík, Vitaliy Sachko and Geoffrey Blancaneaux, also losing sets to the Slovak and the Frenchman.
The championship match itself proved far more one-sided. Although Tirante had to fend off a break point in the opening game, he quickly established control as the Spaniard grew impatient, sprayed errors and vented frustration. The Argentinian broke for 5–3 and closed out the first set shortly afterwards.
The second set was even more emphatic. Tirante broke serve in the third and seventh games, dominated the rallies, and converted his first match point to seal victory 6–3, 6–2 in one hour and 22 minutes.
BACK INSIDE THE TOP 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣@TiranteThiago hoists up his second title of 2025 after defeating Llamas Ruiz 6-3, 6-2!#ATPChallenger | @SzczecinOpen pic.twitter.com/B9roJELPti
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 14, 2025
“I played a really good match, from the first to the last point at a very high level,” Tirante said afterwards. “It hasn’t been easy. I’ve worked hard between tournaments, improving day by day, and today — in the most important moment — I showed my best tennis of the week.”
Returning to the world’s Top 100 is another milestone. “I think this is one of the biggest titles of my career, my first in Europe, and I’m very happy I won it here in Szczecin,” he added.
