The Italy Major delivered its first marquee casualty on Thursday. Jerónimo González and Lucas Campagnolo dismantled the higher-ranked pairing of Franco Stupaczuk and Miguel Yanguas in straight sets, the standout result of a 32-match day that also sent Italy's Giulia Dal Pozzo surging into the women's semifinals.
Jerónimo González / Campagnolo 6-4, 7-6 Stupaczuk / Yanguas
On paper this was a mismatch. Stupaczuk and Yanguas arrived ranked sixth and seventh in the world individually; González and Campagnolo sit 14th and 21st. On the court, the lower-ranked pair never played like the underdogs.
González and Campagnolo took the first set 6-4 and refused to blink when Stupaczuk and Yanguas dragged the second to a tiebreak. They closed it out 7-6, converting the breaker to seal a straight-sets win and deny the favourites a decider.
It is the biggest scalp of the tournament so far, and it blows open the bottom half of the men's draw. Stupaczuk and Yanguas leave Italy early — a dent in the week and an opening for the chasing pack.
Nuria Rodríguez / Giulia Dal Pozzo 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 Orsi / Llaguno
Nuria Rodríguez and Giulia Dal Pozzo needed all three sets, and every nerve, to see off Carolina Orsi and Patricia Llaguno. After taking the opener 6-4, they were bageled in the second, swept 6-0 as Orsi and Llaguno lifted their level.
The decider went the distance. Rodríguez and Dal Pozzo held their composure to edge the third-set tiebreak 7-6, riding the home crowd behind Italy's Dal Pozzo into the quarterfinals.
Nuria Rodríguez / Giulia Dal Pozzo 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 Araújo / Claudia Fernández
The ranking gap here was a chasm. Claudia Fernández and Sofía Araújo, ranked sixth and eighth in the world, were heavy favourites against a pair headed by the world No. 50. It did not matter.
Rodríguez and Dal Pozzo dropped the first set 3-6, then flipped the match entirely — 6-3, 6-2 — outlasting the favourites as the momentum turned. It was their second win of the day, and it carries them into the semifinals, the run of the tournament on the women's side.
For Dal Pozzo, a deep home Major is a statement. For Fernández and Araújo, an early exit reshapes the top half of the draw.
Coello / Tapia 6-1, 6-1 Gala / Jensen
The world No. 1s did not linger. Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia brushed aside David Gala and Enzo Jensen 6-1, 6-1 in a routine statement of intent. Little to read into beyond ruthless efficiency.
Triay / Brea 6-1, 6-1 Martínez Fortún / Escacena
Gemma Triay and Delfina Brea, the top seeds, were equally emphatic. A 6-1, 6-1 dismissal of Patricia Martínez Fortún and Claudia Escacena never threatened to become a contest, keeping the No. 1 pair firmly on course.
With both top seeds cruising and Dal Pozzo lighting up the home draw, Friday brings the tournament's first real tests — women's semifinals and men's quarterfinals. The bottom of the men's bracket, blown open by the Stupaczuk-Yanguas exit, is suddenly anyone's.