The Czech pairing put themselves under pressure in the first of three successive Tokyo 2020 qualifying events taking place at the Cancun Hub by losing their opening match to Austrian qualifiers Martin Ermacora and Moritz Pristauz.

But they advanced to the elimination round and claimed a hard-fought win against Mexicans Juan Virgen and Lombardo Ontiveros, prevailing 24-26, 21-19, 22-20.

Their path continued in the round-of-24, where they beat Russians Nikita Liamin and Taras Myskiv 21-12, 16-21, 15-9, and in the round-of-16 they enjoyed a 21-18, 21-12 win over Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb of the United States.

The Czech players had arrived in Cancun on a high having won the first event of the 2021 season, the four-star Katara Cup in Doha in March.

"Honestly, to me, it felt like any momentum we could have built in Doha ended two hours after the end of the tournament," Perusic said.

"We went to a training camp and were back to our usual selves.

"The truth is I believe that we're not consistent enough to be considered a top-10 team in the world just yet, but this finish here in Cancun is really important and it helps us a lot in our attempt to qualify for the Olympics."

In the quarter-finals, the Czechs will face another Russian team in Konstantin Semenov and Ilya Leshukov, who went through after beating Swiss qualifiers Quentin Metral and Yves Haussener 21-17, 21-16.

Top-seeded and world ranking leaders Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway also moved on as they secured their third victory in the event, a 21-15, 15-21, 15-12 triumph over American veterans Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena.

They will now face Brazilian qualifiers Gustavo "Guto" Carvalhaes and Arthur Mariano, who also eliminated an American duo after they beat Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb 22-20, 21-9.

Another match-up will see Cherif Samba and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar facing Italy's Adrian Carambula and Enrico Rossi.

The Qataris advanced by defeating reigning world champions Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Viacheslav Krasilnikov of Russia 21-12, 19-21, 15-10, while the Italians moved forward after they ousted Swiss duo Marco Krattiger and Florian Breer 21-18, 23-21.

The last men's quarter-final will be between Austria's Ermacora and Pristauz, who defeated Germans Nils Ehlers and Lars Fluggen 21-17, 23-21, and Latvians Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins, who downed Italian Olympic medallists Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai 17-21, 21-19, 15-13.

In the women's competition, Germany's Chantal Laboureur and Cinja Tillman, partners since the start of the year, have thrived in their first tournament en-route to the quarter-finals. 

Laboureur and Tillman have won three of their first four matches, losing only to reigning world champions Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes in pool play.

In the round-of-16, the Germans beat Swiss pairing Nina Betschart and Tanja Huberli, semi-finalists at the 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, 16-21, 23-21, 16-14.

The Germans will now face Australians Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho, who eliminated world ranking leaders April Ross and Alix Klineman of the US with a 29-27, 21-15 victory.

The Australians won the last World Tour event held in Mexico, a four-star tournament in Chetumal, in November 2019.

There will also be an all-Canadian quarter-final match-up reuniting Pavan and Humana-Paredes and Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson, who both eliminated German duos in the round-of-16.

The world champions beat Julia Sude and Karla Borger 21-18, 16-21, 15-12 while Bansley and Wilkerson defeated Laura Ludwig and Margareta Kozuch 20-22, 21-15, 22-20.

Brazil will also have teams meeting for a spot in the semi-finals.

Talita Antunes and Taiana Lima advanced with a 21-14, 15-21, 15-12 win over Greeks Vasiliki Arvaniti and Penny Karagkouni, while Rebecca Cavalcanti and Ana Patricia Ramos moved forward after they eliminated Cubans Leila Martinez and Maylen Deliz 21-18, 19-21, 15-10.

Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda "Duda" Lisboa are Brazil's third team in the quarter-finals as the 2018 FIVB World Tour Finals winners beat Cuba's Lidiannis "Lidy" Echeverria and Yanisleidis Sanchez 21-13, 21-10.

Their opponents will be Russians Nadezda Makroguzova and Svetlana Kholomina who prevailed over Americans Emily Stockman and Kelley Kolinske 21-15, 21-16.