KIGALI/STARNBERG, February 28, 2025
Valentin Royer of France and Slovakian qualifier Andrej Martin will compete in Saturday’s singles final of the Rwanda Challenger. Royer, the No. 3 seed of the ATP Challenger Tour 75 clay-court event being held at the IPRC Kicukiro Ecology Tennis Club in Kigali, battled past Italian wild card entry Marco Cecchinato 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 in the stage of the last four on Friday.
The World No. 182 struck five aces and won 78 per cent of his first-service points to advance in one hour and 57 minutes.
Victories keep on coming for @royer_valentin
The Frenchman hurdles Cecchinato 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 to book a trophy showdown spot#ATPChallenger | @RWAChallenger | #RwandaChallenger2025 pic.twitter.com/npknpQQZv2
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) February 28, 2025
Martin battles past Neuchrist
Martin also had to go the distance in his match against Austrian alternate Maximilian Neuchrist, rallying 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5). The 35-year-old Bratislava native overcame a slow start and broke his rival’s serve three times. Martin won five points more than Neuchrist to seal victory in two hours an d 35 minutes.
From Qualification round to the final.
What a ride it’s been for Andrej!#RwandaChallenger2025 pic.twitter.com/5iTM26IhU4
— Rwanda Challenger (@RWAChallenger) February 28, 2025
Royer is seeking his second ATP Challenger Tour career crown following his maiden triumph at the Sibiu Open in Romania last year. Martin, a former Top 100 player, is bidding for his 13th Challenger career trophy, his first since 2019 Shymkent in Kazakhstan. Royer and Martin will meet for the first time.
In the doubles final, No. 2 seeds Geoffrey Blancaneaux of France and Zdenek Kolar from the Czech Republic will take on the all-Dutch combination of Jesper de Jong and Max Houkes. Saturday’s action will kick off 11:30 am local time.
In 2024, the Rwanda Challenger in Kigali also saw two editions. In the inaugural event, Kamil Majchrzak clinched the singles title by defeating Marco Trungelliti 6-4, 6-4 in the final. The subsequent tournament witnessed Marco Trungelliti securing the championship with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Clement Tabur.
