AUGSBURG, August 29, 2026
More than 500 spectators witnessed the grand finale of the Schwaben Open by Great2Stay on Saturday as the ATP Challenger 50 tournament at TC Augsburg concluded with both finals. After Czech duo Daniel Siniakov and Dominik Recek claimed the doubles title, Romania’s Cezar Cretu celebrated the biggest success of his career by defeating Argentina’s Facundo Mena in straight sets to capture his maiden ATP Challenger singles title.
In the singles final, four-time Challenger champion Facundo Mena (ATP No. 345) faced Cezar Cretu (ATP No. 289), who was bidding to win his first title at Challenger level. The 33-year-old Argentine had already reached the semifinals in Augsburg in 2019, where he lost to eventual champion Yannick Hanfmann of Germany. This time, however, Mena was unable to reproduce the form that had carried him into the final, having defeated four German players on his way to the title match.
After a hard-fought opening service game, the 25-year-old Cretu found his rhythm and began to dictate play with a varied and highly effective game. The fifth seed broke Mena twice in the opening set and, although he had to save a break point while serving for the set, closed it out with a service winner.
With the momentum firmly on his side, Cretu grew in confidence in the second set, while Mena’s error count continued to rise. The Romanian gave his opponent no opportunity to recover, winning the set 6-0 and sealing a convincing 6-2, 6-0 victory after just 58 minutes with a forehand winner down the line.
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Along with 50 valuable ATP Ranking points and €8,550 in prize money, Cretu celebrated the first Challenger title of his career and a new career-high ranking. The Romanian is set to climb almost 60 places to around world No. 230.
“It obviously feels a little unfortunate for my opponent that I didn’t allow him to find his game today,” said the Romanian Davis Cup player afterwards. “But I’m absolutely delighted that I was able to perform at my best today and reward myself with the first Challenger title of my career at my first appearance at this beautiful venue. It’s a really special moment for me.”
Champion of the 2026 Schwaben Open in Augsburg!
Cezar Cretu 🇷🇴 claims his maiden title on the ATP Challenger Tour winning 6-2 6-0 against Facundo Menu in the final!
🎤 Let’s hear from the champ!#ATPChallenger #Augsburg pic.twitter.com/q5k5eYtUWq
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) August 29, 2026
Recek/Siniakov triumph in doubles
Earlier in the day, Daniel Siniakov and his partner Dominik Recek had celebrated victory in the doubles final on Centre Court in Siebentischwald. Siniakov entered the match with an impressive family pedigree: his older sister Katerina Siniakova has won multiple Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles and currently occupies the No. 1 spot in the WTA doubles rankings.
Facing the Argentine-Brazilian combination of Juan Manuel La Serna and Eduardo Ribeiro, the fourth-seeded Czech pairing made a flying start. Siniakov and Recek broke serve twice in the opening set and comfortably served out to take the lead.
The Czechs also secured an early break in the second set. After saving two break points in the following service game, the well-established partnership never looked back. Siniakov and Recek, who had already collected five titles on the World Tennis Tour this season, remained in control and converted their first match point to seal a 6-2, 6-3 victory after 74 minutes.
The triumph marked their second ATP Challenger doubles title together.
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