Almagro, Verdasco advance at Mexican Open
Two-time champion Nicolas Almagro of Spain defeated Benoit Paire of France 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round of the Mexican Open on Wednesday.
The second-seeded Spaniard lost his serve twice to drop the first set, but settled and took control of the match to win at The Fairmont Acapulco Princess.
The 99th-ranked Benoit saved 10 break points against Almagro, who won the Brazil Open two weeks ago.
Almagro won the Mexican Open in 2008 and 2009. In 2011, he was runner-up to David Ferrer, the top seed this year.
Almagro's next opponent will be compatriot Fernando Verdasco, who defeated Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 6-4, 6-2.
No. 5 seed Florian Mayer of Germany lost 6-4, 5-7, 4-6 to Pablo Andujar of Spain, whose likely third-round opponent will be Ferrer.
The No. 7 seed Marcel Granollers of Spain fell 4-6, 3-6 to Santiago Giraldo of Colombia. Giraldo will next face either Carlos Berlocq or Potito Starace.
In the women's tournament, top seed Roberta Vinci of Italy beat Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France 7-5, 6-4 in the second round. She will next face either Alberta Brianti or Michaella Krajicek.
The No. 4-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania ousted Anna Tatishvili of Georgia 6-3, 6-1, setting up a third-round matchup with either Magdalena Rybarikova or local wild-card Ximena Hermoso.
Qualifier Mariana Duque-Marino of Colombia got past sixth seed Johanna Larsson of Sweden 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, and will next meet either another Swede in Sofia Arvidsson or No. 2 seed Flavia Pennetta.
