Lucky losers Montiel and Santigosa fall in the round of 16 at Dusseldorf after stunning run

Alvaro Montiel and Dani Santigosa lost in the final round of qualifying at the CUPRA Germany P2 in Dusseldorf, then played their way into the round of 16 anyway.

A reprieve, then a statement

The Spanish pair fell to Clement Geens and Nacho Moragues 3-6, 7-6, 2-6 in the last qualifying round on Tuesday. Hours later, Coki Nieto and Mike Yanguas withdrew from the main draw because of an injury to Nieto, and the lucky-loser spot went to Montiel and Santigosa instead.

They made the most of it. That evening they beat the 10th seeds, Lucas Bergamini and Jairo Bautista, 7-5, 7-6 in one hour and 54 minutes to book a round of 16 place.

The run ends at Castello Dusseldorf

On Thursday the comeback story stopped short of the quarterfinals. Sanyo Gutierrez and Maxi Sanchez Blasco beat Montiel and Santigosa 2-6, 2-6 at the Castello Dusseldorf.

Two wins from a lucky-loser spot is still a strong week's work on the Premier Padel P2 tour, and it kept the Spanish pair's names near the top of the Dusseldorf draw sheet all week.