CUERNAVACA/STARNBERG, March 18, 2026
Action continued Tuesday at the Morelos Open Metaxchange with a full slate of first-round matches, featuring standout performances, notable upsets, and strong moments from Mexican players.
Colombian qualifier Miguel Tobon delivered one of the biggest surprises of the tournament so far, knocking out second seed Juan Pablo Ficovich of Argentina 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5) in a hard-fought battle to advance to the second round. The 19-year-old struck eight aces and won 83 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in one hour and 51 minutes.
Miguel Tobon turns up the volume 🦁 🔊
The 19-year-old stuns No. 2 seed Ficovich 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5) to move into the second round in Morelos#ATPChallenger | @fedecoltenis pic.twitter.com/L0sk2zZZxn
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) March 17, 2026
Among other seeded players, fifth favourite Marc-Andrea Huesler from Switzerland came from behind to defeat Japanese qualifier Takeru Yuzuki 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, while seventh-seeded US-American Stefan Kozlov secured a 6-4, 6-4 win over Mexico’s Alan Magadan.
Mexican players found success on home soil, with Alejandro Hayen earning a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over French qualifier Robin Catry, and Alex Hernandez delivering a dominant 6-4, 6-0 performance against Belgian qualifier Tibo Colson to move into the next round of the ATP Challenger 75 tournament.
Elsewhere, Michael Mmoh from the United States defeated Mexican qualifier Alan Rubio Fierros 7-5, 6-1, while home favourite Rodrigo Alujas fell in three sets to Aryan Shah from India 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Additional winners on the day included Taro Daniel, Alafia Ayeni, Facundo Mena, and Tyler Zink, all advancing to the second round.
The highly anticipated match between Mexico’s Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez and Alexis Galarneau of Canada was postponed due to persistent rain and thunderstorms. The match has been rescheduled and will be played as the third match on Estadio Morelos.
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