MAIA/STARNBERG, October 16, 2026
Matej Dodig continued his impressive run on Portuguese soil on Thursday, securing the final quarterfinal spot at the Maia Open. The ATP Challenger 100 event, organised for the ninth time by the Portuguese Tennis Federation and Maia City Council, is being held at the Maia Municipal Tennis Complex.
Fresh from winning the Braga Open last Sunday, Dodig (ATP No. 174) extended his winning streak in Portugal to seven matches with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Lukas Neumayer (No. 180) in the final match of the day’s programme.
The 21-year-old Croatian already knows that he will achieve a new career-high ranking when the ATP standings are updated on Monday, with the points from his latest title yet to be added. He also remains firmly in contention to finish the season inside the Top 100.
Thursday’s success marked Dodig’s 25th victory since the beginning of July, underlining his remarkable rise after suffering an ankle sprain in March that kept him away from competition for almost two months.
His next opponent in Maia will be Tristan Boyer (No. 209). The US-American came through a gruelling two-hour-and-33-minute battle to defeat Vilius Gaubas (No. 141) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. The Lithuanian, who lived in Portugal from the age of nine to 15, was denied the opportunity to keep his hopes of reaching another Challenger final in the country alive. A year ago, he won the Lisboa Belém Open and finished runner-up at the Braga Open.
Another quarterfinal match-up confirmed on Thursday will see Marco Trungelliti (No. 90) take on Francesco Passaro (No. 229).
The top seed from Argentina made light work of his opening assignment, defeating Slovakian qualifier Milos Karol (No. 583) 6-2, 6-0 in just 60 minutes.
Passaro, runner-up in Maia in 2024 and fresh from winning an ATP Challenger 50 event in Palermo, faced a tougher challenge but eventually prevailed against seventh seed Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo (No. 157). The Italian came through two tie-breaks to secure a 7-6(2), 7-6(6) victory after two hours and 12 minutes.
