Coello and Tapia Draw In-Form Montiel and Santigosa in Rotterdam Last 16

Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia will open their Rotterdam P2 campaign against Alvaro Montiel and Dani Santigosa in the round of 16, after Montiel and Santigosa beat Edu Alonso and Aimar Goñi 7-6, 6-3 in the first round.

How Montiel and Santigosa got here

Alonso and Goñi arrived in Rotterdam still stinging from a round-of-16 exit at FIP Platinum Lyon, where they fell as the number six seeds. They could not turn things around against Montiel and Santigosa, dropping a tight opening set on a tiebreak before losing their grip in the second. The win sends Montiel and Santigosa straight into a meeting with the tournament's top seeds.

What is at stake

Coello and Tapia arrive in Rotterdam as the world number one pair and defending champions at the event, and like the other three top seeds they sat out the first round entirely. A first match against a pair playing with nothing to lose is rarely straightforward, and Montiel and Santigosa showed in Rotterdam that they can grind out a close set when it matters. A win for Coello and Tapia keeps them on course for a quarterfinal spot in the race toward the Premier Padel Finals in Barcelona.

Draw picture

The other three seeded pairs exempt from round one, Galan and Chingotto, Lebron and Augsburger, and Di Nenno and Navarro, all have their own round-of-16 assignments this week as Rotterdam moves into its business end.