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Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Huesler Reigns in Mexico Again

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports | By Damian Kust | Last updated Apr 7, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Mexico has been a happy hunting ground for Marc-Andrea Huesler over the years, with this week’s Morelos being his fourth Challenger Tour title claimed in the country. Meanwhile, Dalibor Svrcina is continuing an awesome season with a title in Barletta, and Vilius Gaubas recovered his form in Menorca. Read up on last week’s action:

Challenger Tour Weekly Recap

Barletta

Dalibor Svrcina took a special exempt into Barletta after originally intending to play Bucharest ATP 250 qualifying, but having to switch due to his run in Naples. It’s been a great season for the Czech so far, highlighted by the Pune title in February. The first few rounds for him here were a little uneventful, especially with a walkover in the second match from Lilian Marmousez. But there was nothing quiet about his defeat of top seed Valentin Royer in the semifinals, 7-5 6-3 after saving one set point in the opener.

Vitaliy Sachko had to start from the qualifying, with his singles ranking falling off a cliff recently. While he demolished Francesco Maestrelli in the final round, it was the first match in the main draw that proved really difficult. But he saved a match point against 17-year-old Italian Jacopo Vasami and got on a run that included wins over Dan Evans or 2024 US Open boys’ doubles champion Maxim Mrva. Sachko eventually made it to his first Challenger final since July 2023 in Verona.

Sachko loves to go after his returns, which should be a good strategy against someone with a weaker serve like Svrcina. But as the match went on, the Czech began dealing with that pressure better and neutralizing his opponent off the ground too. His defensive variety kept Sachko honest, and he even had plenty of points where he was the one spreading the court to seek a short ball to attack. Svrcina claimed his 4th Challenger title 7-5 6-3 and currently sits inside the Top 60 in the ATP Race. Both players will compete in Monza next, the Barletta runner-up grabbing a special exempt.

Campinas

After a few brutal losses from big leads recently, Alvaro Guillen Meza needed some big results to have a chance at returning to Grand Slam qualifying for Roland Garros and Wimbledon (he only played the US Open last year). The Ecuadorian secured all the points required by making his first final since winning Ibague in June, with only Juan Carlos Prado Angelo coming close. Earlier this year, he had already picked up an ITF title at M25 Punta del Este.

Tomas Barrios Vera had lost to Joao Lucas Reis da Silva at home events in Santiago and Concepcion recently, so it was only fitting that he now defeated the Brazilian in his opponent’s country. That match came in the second round, and taking it ended up giving the 27-year-old a good boost for the rest of the week. He defeated Eduardo Ribeiro and then improved his head-to-head in the South American classic against Juan Pablo Varillas to 7-2. Barrios Vera reached his second final of the season after Punta del Este in January.

The quicker conditions in Campinas suited Barrios Vera, whose flat pace was bothering Guillen Meza early in the rallies, or especially on second serve return. The Ecuadorian had one last chance to claw his way back into the match at 4-6 2-4, missing four break points that game. Barrios Vera ended up claiming his 5th Challenger title 6-4 6-3 with both finalists now switching to the green clay swing in the United States.

Menorca

It hadn’t been a good season for Vilius Gaubas, who arrived in Menorca with a 3-9 record for the year and after two consecutive losses on clay (albeit against great opponents, Carlos Taberner and Marton Fucsovics). But sometimes retribution is closer than we might think. Gaubas didn’t drop a set on the way to the semifinals, posting the most impressive win from 3-5 down against the resurgent Sebastian Ofner, before defeating Ignacio Buse to make his first final since Cordenons in August.

Pol Martin Tiffon had been ranked around 250th consistently for a while now, but always lacked a few wins to get into Grand Slam qualifying. The run to the final in Menorca was finally enough for him to secure a spot in Roland Garros (and likely Wimbledon too). In poetic fashion, he defeated Lukas Neumayer, who beat him in a November semifinal in Montemar, where only the winner was going to Melbourne. En route to his maiden Challenger final, he also defeated Justin Engel and recent Murcia champion Carlos Taberner.

Martin Tiffon was already hampered physically at the end of his semifinal, and that back issue remained as he quickly went down 0-6. Intervention from the physio helped and at least allowed him to push Gaubas a bit. But the Lithuanian had the freedom to attack and was also deadly while using it, clinching his 2nd Challenger title 6-0 6-4. Both players are featured in the draw for Madrid now, Martin Tiffon grabbing a special exempt.

Morelos

Marc-Andrea Huesler got injured at the end of January, healing it up for a couple of months before returning to action in the Mexican altitude swing. His form was already looking sharp in Morelia with a quarterfinal exit to Beibit Zhukayev, before the Morelos No. 4 seed produced an even better run next week. Despite a tricky opener with Viktor Durasovic, Huesler was tuning in his game as the week went on and eliminated 2024 US Open boys’ singles champion Rafael Jodar in the semifinals.

Dmitry Popko produced an incredible run to win the Morelia title, dropping his serve just three times and all in one set. The performances in Morelos had him frequently looking a bit less sharp or fatigued, but he was still able to get through (barely scraping by Max Wiskandt in the second round). Eventually, even some strong altitude players like Juan Pablo Ficovich or Alexis Galarneau were no match for Popko, who made back-to-back Challenger finals.

Huesler had already won three Challenger titles in Mexico (Aguascalientes, Mexico City, San Luis Potosi), but all on clay courts. He had the better start in this final, getting pegged back and having to lock in to restore an early break in the decider. Finally, at 5-4 in the 3rd, he was able to apply a lot of pressure with his net approaches again, claiming his 7th Challenger trophy 6-4 3-6 6-4. He will play Mexico City next, while Popko switches to the green clay swing in the United States in Sarasota.