Goni and Alonso grind past the veterans to reach the Bordeaux P2 last 16

Aimar Goni and Edu Alonso booked a Bordeaux P2 round-of-16 spot the hard way, beating the far more experienced Sanyo Gutierrez and Maxi Sanchez Blasco 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the opening round at the Patinoire Meriadeck.

The young Spanish pair took the first set cleanly, lost their grip in the second, then steadied to close it out in the decider. That's the kind of scalp that gets a new team noticed on the Premier Padel tour.

Ruiz and Esbri roll through

Alex Ruiz and Juanlu Esbri had an easier afternoon, seeing off Javi Garcia and Jose Jimenez 6-4, 6-2 to move on.

The big four wait

The top seeds sat out the first round. Tapia and Coello, Galan and Chingotto, Lebron and Augsburger, and Yanguas and Stupaczuk all earned byes in the 28-team men's draw and don't hit a ball until Thursday's round of 16. That's when the pairs who came through this week get their crack at the seeds, on the road to Sunday's final.