PUNTA CANA/STARNBERG, March 16, 2025
US-American Aleksandar Kovacevic and Bosnian Damir Dzumhur will face off in the championship match of the inaugural Republica Dominicana Open Copa Cap Cana on Sunday.
In the semi-finals, Kovacevic battled past top seed Alexandre Muller of France in a three-set thriller, winning 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5) after two hours and 25 minutes of play. The World No. 94 recovered from an early break in the deciding set, leveling at 3-3 before both players held serve to force a tie-break. Kovacevic quickly surged to a 5-1 lead, and despite some late resistance, he held on to secure victory.
@kova_aleks is through to the biggest Challenger final of his career!#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/yDpb0xC4XZ
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) March 15, 2025
“I think I just started to serve and return a little bit better,” Kovacevic said when describing his third-set turnaround. “He broke me in the second and first set, both very early, so I don’t think my first-serve percentage was very high.
“I figured out the return a little better in the third set and then it got better especially in the tie-break and that was the difference. It was very windy, so if you could just get the ball back in play a lot of the time and I could limit the times he got the ball back in play, then I was doing pretty well.”
Meanwhile, Dzumhur overcame fifth seed Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic in a grueling 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 battle that lasted two hours and 43 minutes. The 32-year-old Bosnian relied on his experience to counter Mensik’s powerful serves, despite the Czech receiving strong support from the crowd at Racquet Village in Cap Cana. This marks Dzumhur’s fourth final on Dominican soil as he aims for his third title.
Championship Sunday @DzumhurDamir topples No. 5 seed Mensik 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in Cap Cana#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/gPCoaN5dYM
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) March 16, 2025
Doubles final set
In the doubles final, Czech duo Petr Nouza and Patrik Rikl will take on Ecuadorians Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo.
Nouza and Rikl secured their place in the title match with a 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 victory over Germany’s Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner. Escobar and Hidalgo advanced after defeating Portugal’s Francisco Cabral and Germany’s Hendrik Jebens 6-2, 3-6, 10-7.
Sunday’s action begins at 11:00 AM local time with the doubles final, followed by the highly anticipated singles championship match.
About the Copa Cap Cana
The Republica Dominicana Open Copa Cap Cana is an ATP Challenger Tour 175 event with a prize pool of $250,000. The tournament is being held at the Raquet Village and features over 60 professional players from more than 20 countries, competing in both singles and doubles. The event continues until Sunday, showcasing high-level tennis in a stunning Caribbean setting.
