POZOBLANCO/STARNBERG, July 14, 2026
Spain’s Izan Almazan produced the biggest upset of the final round of qualifying at the Open Ciudad de Pozoblanco Covap – Memorial Fabian Dorado 2026, booking his place in the main draw of the ATP Challenger 75 hard-court tournament with an impressive straight-sets victory over second seed Massimo Giunta of Italy.
The 20-year-old Mallorca native controlled the match from the opening games, dictating play with confidence and composure. Although Giunta mounted a fightback in the second set, Almazan held firm to seal a 6-3, 7-5 victory and complete a remarkable qualifying campaign.
Almazan’s run has been one of resilience. In his opening qualifying match, he recovered from a 6-1, 4-2 deficit against Colombia’s Samuel Heredia before turning the match around in spectacular fashion. His reward is a place among the 32-player main draw, where he will face eighth seed Alastair Gray of Great Britain in the opening round.
Fellow Spaniards Mario Gonzalez and Bernardo Munk were unable to join him in the main draw. Gonzalez was defeated 6-4, 6-4 by experienced Czech Dominik Palan, who capitalized on a single break in each set to advance.
Munk started strongly against Malaysia’s Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong, taking the opening set, but the Malaysian steadily took control of the contest to complete a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 comeback victory.
Another surprise came from Pavel Lagutin, the Siberian-born player based in Andalusia, who comfortably defeated Japan’s fourth seed Takuya Kumasaka to secure his place in the main draw.
Elsewhere, the remaining seeded players progressed as expected. Ilya Ivashka overcame Bulgaria’s Iliyan Radulov, while Tunisia’s Aziz Ouakaa defeated Colombia’s Samuel Alejandro Linde Palacios to complete the qualifying field.
MONDAY RESULTS
Qualifying – Final Round
[3] Dominik Palan (CZE) def. [10] Mario González Fernández (ESP) 6-4, 6-4
[5] Aziz Ouakaa (TUN) def. Samuel Alejandro Linde Palacios (COL) 6-3, 6-0
[12] Izan Almazán Valiente (ESP) def. [2] Massimo Giunta (ITA) 6-3, 7-5
[7] Ilya Ivashka def. Iliyan Radulov (BUL) 6-4, 6-4
Pavel Lagutin def. [4] Takuya Kumasaka (JPN) 6-3, 6-1
[9] Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (MAS) def. Bernardo Munk Mesa (ESP) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
