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Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Cecchinato Shocks Prizmic in Milan Final

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports | By Damian Kust | Last updated Jun 29, 2025 9:26 PM ET

Wimbledon qualifying week featured two events on the ATP Challenger Tour. Juan Carlos Prado Angelo became the 4th champion from Bolivia after H. Dellien (15), Martinez (2), and M. Dellien (1), while Marco Cecchinato snapped the 14-match win streak of Dino Prizmic to earn his first title at any level since October 2022. Read up on last week’s action:

Milan

Dino Prizmic came to Milan on a 10-match win streak after claiming titles in Zagreb and Bratislava. The 19-year-old was already deep into the Top 200, but got there a bit too late to make the cut for Wimbledon qualifying. As such, he was considered a massive favorite to win another title. That feeling of Prizmic against the field was very much there although after three comfortable rounds, he needed to battle for the win against 2024 US Open boys’ juniors champion Rafael Jodar.

Marco Cecchinato reached a semifinal and a quarterfinal in Kigali earlier this season, but then quickly fell into an right-match losing streak. Recent weeks were finally a bit better, even though nothing was suggesting that he was about to go on a big run. The veteran surprised by losing 20 games in his first four matches in Milan, reaching a Challenger final for the first time since October 2022 in Rio de Janeiro. In the semifinals, he stopped his wunderkind countryman, 17-year-old Jacopo Vasami.

Prizmic was the overwhelming favorite to seal the deal and pick up his 3rd title in a row, but the final wasn’t going smoothly for him at all. Cecchinato loved his position of attacking from the back foot and waiting for him to make some sort of error (in the traditional sense or positionally). Despite a small spike when the 19-year-old saved multiple break points with aggressive shots at 2-6 2-4, Cecchinato held firm to claim his 8th Challenger title 6-2 6-3. He will now return to the Top 300

Lima

Juan Carlos Prado Angelo had reached a couple of Challenger quarterfinals this season (Merida, Campinas), but the 2023 Roland Garros boys’ singles runner-up wasn’t getting close to a proper breakthrough. It all changed in Lima, even if you wouldn’t have guessed it after the first two rounds. His level gradually improved though as the Bolivian took out top seeded Nicolas Mejia and then Pedro Boscardin Dias at the loss of ten games combined.

Gonzalo Bueno had his Challenger breakthrough at the Challenger in Lima in 2022, making the semifinals. The Peruvian tends to play his best tennis at home and he was also able to produce this time around. The key match seemed to be his quarterfinal against Matheus Pucinelli de Almeida, which the 21-year-old handled comfortably, before reaching the final without dropping a set. Interestingly, Prado Angelo was his opponent in Santa Cruz opening round the week before Lima (the Bolivian won).

Crowd support for Bueno was massive in almost letting him come back from 2-5 (double break) in the opening set, but Prado Angelo just held off the inspired effort. All in all it was clear both had a similar idea for this match with the Bolivian just executing that inside-out-FH-based game at a higher level. Especially during the patches when he was also confident in his backhand down-the-line, he was tough to catch and ran away with his 1st Challenger title 6-4 7-5. Both players will now head to Europe after a week of rest with Bueno set to compete in Braunschweig qualifying, while Prado Angelo will play in Trieste.