Day 3. So many surprises in the women’s draw. But the top three pairs don’t fail

The BNL Italy Major Premier Padel, overall in the women’s draw, is the tournament of surprises. Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga, Marina Guinart and Victoria Iglesias, and Marta Barrera and Marta Caparros: these are the three pairs that, against all predictions, reached the quarterfinals scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m. CET. If Caldera/Goenaga (10) and Guinart/Iglesias (11, the latter last year’s winners of the CUPRA FIP Finals in Bourg en Bresse) were nevertheless among the tournament’s seeded players, the feat of the day was that of the “Martas”, Barrera and Caparros, who after eliminating home idol Carolina Orsi on Wednesday repeated with a 6-1 7-5 win over Ale Salazar and Veronica Virseda (6). A pair between Guinart/Iglesias (able to beat Sofia Araujo and Andrea Ustero in three sets, 7-6 4-6 6-1) and Barrera/Caparros will also reach the semifinals in the bottom half of the draw, where Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay (double 6-0 to Eugenio/Riera in their tournament debut) and Tamara Icardo and Claudia Jensen (8) will also compete. At the top half, however, facing Ari Sanchez and Paula Josemaria (6-4 6-2 to Osoro/Calvo) and Marta Ortega and Ale Alonso (6-3 6-4 to Collombon/Martinez), with three of the four winners of the first two editions of the Rome Major on the court. Caldera and Goenaga, who eliminated 7-6 6-3 Lucia Sainz and Patty Llaguno – finalists in 2024 – will find Bea Gonzalez and Claudia Fernandez (6-3 6-0 to Martinez Gomez/Marrero) on their way.

MEN In the men’s draw, however, two pairs out of the top eight of the seeding reached the quarter-finals. Inigo Jofre and Alex Arroyo (12), with a 6-4 7-5 win over Nachi Sager and Lucas Campagnolo, earned the chance to challenge (in the second match on the Central) Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan, ahead thanks to a 6-0 6-2 win over Perino/Huete. In the evening, instead, Fran Guerrero and Javi Leal (13) eliminated Juan Tello and Martin Di Nenno (7-6 6-2), with the latter also penalised by a physical problem suffered in the final games. Also in the bottom half, that of the “Chingalan”, Franco Stupaczuk and Juan Lebron (3) – who struggled to beat Javier Barahona and Javi Garcia 6-3 4-6 6-3 – will open the programme on the centre court against Momo Gonzalez and Jon Sanz (5, double 6-4 to Alex Ruiz and Maxi Sanchez). In the afternoon the top half of the main draw: Guerrero and Leal against Coki Nieto and Mike Yanguas (4, 6-3 7-5 to Alex Chozas and Sanyo Gutierrez), then Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia (whose 6-3 6-2 to José Diestro and Juanlu Esbri redeemed their Asuncion defeat) against Paquito Navarro and Lucas Bergamini (6, 7-6 3-6 6-1 to Edu Alonso and Jairo Bautista), in the rematch of the Buenos Aires final.