CDMX Open round of 32: Mexican hero makes history!

The second slate of CDMX Open round of 32 games on Wednesday saw all local Mexican heroes in action, with one of them making history. Pablo Acevedo became the first Mexican in World Padel Tour history to make the round of 16 of an Open.

Sixth-seeded Fernando Belasteguín and his partner Arturo Coello also made their tournament bow as 2021's final Open saw its first round come to conclusion.

Without further ado, here is what happened in the afternoon shift at the Centro Libanés.

READ: First shock defeat in Mexico in early CDMX Open R32 games

Ruiz/Alonso VS Martínez/Acevedo 

The first game at the Centro Libanés' centre court saw the crowd's favourite player, Mexican Pablo Acevedo and his partner Ricardo Martínez Sánchez, take on Víctor Ruiz and Edu Alonso.

Despite the unconditioned support from the crowd for Acevedo and Martínez, their Spanish opponents were in charge at the start. Ruiz and Alonso got two breaks' advantage and rolled to victory, winning the opening frame 2-6.

Plenty of break points were also won in the second set, but this time on both sides. Much to the delight of the local crowd, at 5-5, it was Martínez and Acevedo who found the way through. They took the second set 7-5 to force a decider.

In the final act of this match, the Spanish-Mexican tandem kept gaining confidence. Holding their serve comfortably, the deciding break came in the ninth game, at 4-4. A match that once looked lost in the second set, they completed the comeback to claim the final set 6-4.

Ricardo Martínez and Pablo Acevedo won 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, making Acevedo the first Mexican to ever reach the round of 16 of an Open. However, Acevedo and Martínez now face number one-seeded Alejandro Galán and Juan Lebrón in the round of 16.

Quílez/Bueno VS González/Rico

Court two started the afternoon shift as an all-Spanish pair in Marc Quílez and Toni Bueno took on Momo González and Javi Rico.

Not intimidated by the rankings' favourites for this match, Quílez and Bueno started in splendid fashion. González and Rico were undone, and their defences disarmed. The nine-seed was broken twice as Quílez and Bueno won 2-6 in the opening set.

As impressive as the first set was, the response from González and Rico was even better. Whatever you can do, we can do better, they must have thought. They did all of the breaking this time, only allowing Quílez and Bueno a single game, winning 6-1.

A decider was forced, and it was the closest set of them all. This was until González and Rico again managed to break service. Holding on to their advantage, the tandem saw out the CDMX Open round of 32 match.  They stay alive and advance to the final 16.

Zama/Lerdo VS Moyano/Belluati

Ramiro Moyano and Juan Cruz Belluati were next on the menu, taking on a Mexican wild card pairing in Ezio Zama and Sebastián Lerdo at centre court.

Overwhelming underdogs, Zama and Lerdo held their ground impressively to start the match. The Mexicans made it to 3-3 unscathed, which is when their Argentinian rivals broke service to take the first set 6-4.

Resistance from Zama and Lerdo seemed to be broken after losing the first frame. Moyano and Belluati showed no mercy in the second act. The Argentinians smelled blood and were not prepared for another Mexican upset like Acevedo had managed earlier. Showing no mercy, they broke at will and won the second set 6-1. The game was over in under an hour, with Moyano and Belluati surviving the CDMX Open round of 32.

Cano/Diestro VS Rubio/Ramírez

An all-Spanish affair on court two saw José Antonio García Diestro and Antonio F. Cano take on Gonzalo Rubio and Iván Ramírez. Ranked 19th and 16th respectively, fewer than 300 points separate these two sides. A lot was at stake for both pairs in their final tournament of the season.

Pincho and Diestro took to the conditions much better in this CDMX Open round of 32. Attacking early, they quickly ran away with the first set. After 35 minutes, Diestro and Cano took it 6-1.

Rubio and Ramírez reacted in the second act. While it was a closer shave, Cano and Diestro ran away with it in the second half. Antonio F. Cano and José A. García Diestro won this one 6-1, 6-3. They will face Buenos Aires Padel Master winners Francisco Navarro and Martín Di Nenno in the round of 16.

Belasteguín/Coello (6) VS Alba/Semmler

The final match on centre court on Wednesday saw the sixth seed, Fernando Belasteguín and Arturo Coello, face Sergio Alba and Miguel Semmler.

Bela and Coello, who still look for their first finals appearance as a pair, would have been expected to win with relative ease. This is exactly what the sixth seed set out to do against the 20th seed. Flying from the start, they did a perfect set, winning it 6-0.

Showing absolutely no mercy in the second set either, Belasteguín and Coello lost one game at the start but broke at 1-1. Breaking again after, they won the second act 6-2. They ended Alba and Semmler's season in an hour, and Belasteguín-Coello march on to the round of 16.

Allemandi/Nieto VS Gil/Moya

The final CDMX Open round of 32 match-up on court 2 saw Malmö Padel open semi-finalists Adrián Allemandi and Coki Nieto take on Jesús Moya and Xisco Gil for a ticket to the final 16.

A real back-and-forth affair, Tito Allemandi and Nieto found themselves down 4-2 to Moya and Gil. Impressively, they broke twice from this position, levelling and taking the first set 6-4.

With momentum on their side of the court now, the Spanish-Argentinian broke straightaway in the second set to make it 2-0. Moya and Gil got it back to 3-3, but Allemandi and Nieto again came alive in the latter stages of the set. Winning another 6-4, Allemandi and Nieto ended the season for Moya and Gil. Now, they face four-seed Fede Chingotto and Juan Tello in the round of 16.