LISBON/STARNBERG, October 2, 2022

Marco Cecchinato of Italy has captured his first title since 2019 by lifting the trophy of the Lisboa Belem Open. The No. 5 seed of the €45,730 ATP Challenger Tour clay-court tournament defeated first-time finalist and qualifier Luca van Assche of France 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday.

Cecchinato, who didn’t drop a set en route to the championship match, was also in control of the singles final. The 30-year-old Palermo native struck six aces and won 78 per cent of his first-service points to succeed in one hour and 24 minutes.

Marco Cecchinato is the new Del Monte #LisboaBelémOpen champion!

The former World No. 16 beats Luca Van Assche 6-3, 6-3 to win his sixth @ATPChallenger — his first title since Buenos Aires ATP 250 in February 2019. pic.twitter.com/j4WJBMOUtq

— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) October 2, 2022

“I am very happy to have won this title after such a long time,” said Cecchinato. “It’s very important because it’s been a tough year, I started with an injury and a three-month break. I played a lot of matches without confidence, but this week I played really good tennis and I didn’t lose a set, I’m happy because I felt good on court from the first round.”

By winning his sixth ATP Challenger Tour career title in addition to his three triumphs on the ATP Tour, 137th-ranked Cecchinato earned €6,190 in prize money as well as 80 ATP Ranking points.

“I want to return to the top 100 and that is my motivation,” Cecchinato added about his goal.