PERUGIA/STARNBERG, June 4, 2026
The 11th edition of the Internazionali di Tennis Città di Perugia | G.I.Ma. Tennis Cup produced a historic moment on Thursday evening as Timofey Skatov and Chun-Hsin Tseng contested the longest match ever played on the ATP Challenger Tour.
In front of a captivated crowd on Centre Court at the Tennis Club Perugia, Skatov emerged victorious after an epic four-hour and 27-minute battle, defeating Tseng 6-7(2), 7-6(7), 7-6(4) to book his place in the quarterfinals of the ATP Challenger 125 event organized by MEF Tennis Events.
The clash between the two former junior world No. 1s lived up to expectations and then some. Played at a relentless intensity from the opening point until late in the evening, the match featured countless momentum swings and moments of high drama. Ultimately, it was the 23-year-old Kazakh, currently ranked world No. 189, who found a way through against the former world No. 83 from Chinese Taipei.
Con 4 ore e 27 minuti di partita, Timofey Skatov raggiunge i quarti agli Internazionali di Perugia e firma il record per il match più lungo della storia a livello Challenger #tennis #InternazionaliPerugia #ATPChallenger #Perugia a pic.twitter.com/ebofl9dEQ0
— MEF tennis events (@meftennisevents) June 3, 2026
“In my head, I won and lost this match several times,” Skatov said afterwards. “I have to thank the crowd here in Perugia for supporting us from start to finish. Maybe some people got bored after all that time, but it was an incredible battle. It was physical, but also very mental. He is an amazing opponent and every time he was in trouble, he managed to raise his level. Somehow, in the end, I managed to get it done.”
Despite the physical demands of the contest, Skatov was particularly proud of the way he handled the emotional challenges throughout the evening.
“I’m proud of myself for approaching the match with the right attitude,” he said. “In situations like this, it’s easy to become negative, but I tried to keep smiling and even laugh at myself at times. That definitely helped.”
After completing the record-breaking victory, Skatov will now face Italy’s Marco Cecchinato on Friday for a place in the semifinals.
“I’ll take as much time as possible to recover, work with the physios, eat well and regain my energy,” Skatov added. “The duration of the match sounds impressive, but at Grand Slam level, top players often spend more than four hours on court and still come back competitive. Players like Jakub Mensik and Matteo Arnaldi have spent an incredible amount of time on court during this Roland Garros. You have to take inspiration from them and do everything possible to be ready again. Against Cecchinato, it will certainly be a very difficult match.”
