Rotterdam P2: Spain Pick Goñi Falls as Montiel-Santigosa Strike First

The first full day of main-draw action at the CUPRA Rotterdam Premier Padel P2 produced one clear headline. Aimar Goñi, who was named in Spain's squad for the World Championships in Doha only last week, is already out of the tournament. He and Edu Alonso lost 7-6(9), 6-3 to Álvaro Montiel and Daniel Santigosa in Tuesday's round of 32 at Rotterdam Ahoy.

Another early exit for Goñi and Alonso

On paper, the Spanish pair were favourites. Goñi is ranked 32nd in the world, and Padel Addict noted that he and Alonso held the better ranking position. The first set was the turning point. Montiel and Santigosa won a long tie-break 11-9, then kept control in the second set to finish the job 6-3.

This is the second disappointing result in a row for the partnership. At last week's FIP Platinum in Lyon they lost in the round of 16. For Goñi, the timing is awkward. The World Championships run from 2 to 7 November, so there are only a few weeks left to find rhythm before he pulls on the Spain shirt.

Tuesday's other winners

Three more men's pairs reached the round of 16 on the opening day, according to results published by El Neverazo:

Pablo Lijó / Xisco Gil beat Fede Mouriño / Marc Quílez 7-5, 6-3. Tino Libaak / Gonza Alfonso beat Alonso Rodríguez / Flavio Abbate 6-3, 7-5. Maxi Arce / Juan Tello won a tight contest against Tolito Aguirre / Pablo García 7-6(3), 7-5.

Montiel and Santigosa's reward is a much bigger test. Top seeds Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia skipped the round of 32 with a bye and open their title defence against the winners of the Goñi-Alonso match. The top four men's pairs, including Galán-Chingotto, Lebrón-Augsburger and Navarro-Di Nenno, all entered the draw at the round of 16.

Wednesday: Stupaczuk-Sanz, Lyon champions and a Dutch wildcard test

The second day of round-of-32 play starts at 12:00 CET, according to the official order of play. It features several names from last week's Lyon Platinum. Franco Stupaczuk and Jon Sanz, beaten in the Lyon final, play a qualifying pair on centre court. Pol Hernández and Manuel Castaño face home favourites Julian Prins and Youp de Kroon, a match the Rotterdam crowd will be watching closely.

In the women's draw, Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga, who won the Lyon title on Sunday, play qualifiers on court 2. Nearby, Léa Godallier and Daiara Valenzuela face Marta Caparrós and Lyon finalist Águeda Pérez. On centre court, Noa Cánovas and María Rodríguez meet Lorena Rufo and Victoria Iglesias. France's Alix Collombon, who reached the Lyon semi-finals, starts with Ksenia Sharifova against a qualifying pair.

Lyon is already showing up in the rankings. The FIP update published on Tuesday moved Lyon champion Fran Guerrero up to 9th and Javi Leal to a career-high 15th. Bea González took back 3rd place in the women's list after a points adjustment.

The top eight women's seeds, led by Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay, enter the draw from Thursday. Up to the round of 16, matches stream free on Premier Padel's YouTube channel. Red Bull TV takes over from the quarter-finals, and the finals are on Sunday, 4 October.