Just over 24 hours after Agustín Tapia - Arturo Coello and Ari Sánchez - Andrea Ustero were crowned Rotterdam P2 champions, Düsseldorf becomes the second stop on the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour’s European swing, with a P1 event in Milan to follow next week.

The Germany P2 men’s main draw is already underway, delivering some major battles on its opening day, with Álvaro Montiel - Daniel Santigosa seizing their second chance after earning a place in the draw through the Lucky Losers draw.

Santigosa - Montiel Pull Off a Major Upset

The young pair proved that second chances can sometimes pay off. After losing this morning in the final round of qualifying to Clement Geens and Nacho Moragues in a two-hour, 10-minute battle (3-6, 7-6, 2-6), they had a stroke of luck afterwards when the Lucky Losers draw awarded them a place in the first round, replacing Coki Nieto - Mike Yanguas, who withdrew from the tournament due to Nieto’s injury. Rather than letting the opportunity slip, they seized it and went on to defeat Lucas Bergamini - Jairo Bautista.

The pair coached by Juanma Rodríguez overcame their accumulated fatigue to defeat the No. 10 seeds in a closely fought battle in Düsseldorf, with Bergamini - Bautista making their debut as a pair on Tour. A 7-5, 7-6 victory in one hour and 54 minutes secured their place in the Round of 16, a stage they also reached in Rotterdam.

Winning Debuts for Gutiérrez - Sánchez and Garrido - De Pascual

Gutiérrez - Sánchez, who had already shared the court earlier this season, had a perfect start in Düsseldorf. Less than three months after parting ways at the Pretoria P1, they reunited in Germany and produced a highly solid performance to defeat David Gala - Enzo Jensen (#18) in straight sets, 7-6, 6-1. Their next opponents will be Santigosa - Montiel, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

Meanwhile, Javier Garrido - Juani De Pascual (#16) made their Premier Padel debut as a pair with a victory to bounce back from an early exit in the Round of 16 at FIP Gold Perugia. In just over an hour, they defeated Javi García - Álex Ruiz (#12) 6-3, 6-2, a particularly liberating victory for Garrido after he had suffered first-round exits at the Tour’s previous three tournaments in Madrid, Paris and Rotterdam. On Thursday, they will face Chingalán for a place in the quarter-finals.

Arce - Tello Defeat Rotterdam Semi-Finalists

Another of the day’s standout victories came from Maxi Arce - Juan Tello (#9), who are looking to move closer to the Tour Finals qualification spots during this European swing and earn a call-up to Argentina’s squad for the FIP World Cup in Qatar. Coached by Seba Nerone, they produced a highly disciplined performance to defeat Momo González - Lucas Campagnolo (#8) 7-5, 7-6, the Rotterdam P2 semi-finalists.

Meanwhile, Paquito Navarro - Martín Di Nenno (#5) were also involved in a thrilling battle, defeating Aimar Goñi - Edu Alonso (#11) to make a winning start to their campaign in Düsseldorf. They are looking to build momentum that can translate into strong results this week and next at the Milan P1, with the aim of regaining the No. 4 seed status that Franco Stupaczuk - Jon Sanz will retain at least until the end of the European swing.

On Wednesday, Di Nenno - Navarro will face another young team who secured an impressive victory: Manu Castaño - Pol Hernández (#21). They defeated Álex Arroyo - José Jiménez (#14) 6-3, 6-2 in just over an hour. Arroyo - Jiménez had reached the quarter-finals of the Madrid P1 a few weeks ago.

The Women’s Draw Takes Centre Stage as Local Heroes Enter the Fray

The women’s first round will get underway from 9.00 a.m. at Castello Düsseldorf, with several names to keep an eye on. Among them is Claudia Escacena, who reached the quarter-finals alongside Claudia Jensen at the Rotterdam P2 after benefiting from a Lucky Loser spot. She now reunites with her regular partner, Noemí Aguilar, with a place in the round of 16 at stake against the Italian duo Baldi - Aima.

Meanwhile, German duo Pluemer - Hering, local heroes after helping their national team qualify for the FIP World Cup a few weeks ago, will look to cause an upset in front of their home crowd against Araceli Martínez - Lucía Martínez (#16) after receiving a Wild Card.

In the men’s draw, the remaining first-round matches will be played, with the headline clash seeing Fran Guerrero - Javi Leal (#7) take on Gonza Alfonso - Tino Libaak (#15). The two pairs will meet for the second consecutive week after the Argentine team won in Dutch soil.

In addition, German No. 1 Agus Reca will make his debut alongside Víctor Tur against José Solano - Ramiro Pereyra after receiving a Wild Card. The same applies to his compatriots Matthias Wunner - Johannes Lindmeyer, who will face Javier Martínez - Luis Hernández.