Franco Stupaczuk and Miguel Yanguas are out of the Italy Major. The world No. 6 and No. 7 were beaten in straight sets in the last 16 — the biggest casualty on a day that also handed Italy a home semifinalist in Giulia Dal Pozzo.
Jerónimo González / Lucas Campagnolo 6-4 7-6 Stupaczuk / Yanguas
The ranking gap pointed one way; the result went the other. Jerónimo González (No. 14) and Lucas Campagnolo (No. 21) beat the No. 6/No. 7 pairing of Stupaczuk and Yanguas in straight sets — and they never trail in a set to do it.
González and Campagnolo take the opener 6-4 and refuse to let the seeds level. The second set runs to a tiebreak, the one clear window Stupaczuk and Yanguas have to force a decider, but it is the underdogs who hold firm and close it 7-6 for the straight-sets win.
The result cracks open the men's draw. Stupaczuk and Yanguas were among the pairs expected to reach the last four here; those points and that path now pass to a lower-ranked duo who look increasingly at ease together.
Nuria Rodríguez / Giulia Dal Pozzo 6-4 0-6 7-6 Carolina Orsi / Patricia Llaguno
The wildest scoreline of the day comes from the women's last 16. Nuria Rodríguez and Giulia Dal Pozzo win the first set 6-4, are bageled 6-0 in the second, then take the decider in a tiebreak, 7-6.
After that second-set shutout, Carolina Orsi (No. 28) and Patricia Llaguno (No. 22) look to have wrestled back control. They don't hold it. Roared on by the home crowd behind Dal Pozzo, the lower-ranked pair drag the third set to a tiebreak and find the composure their opponents lose, closing it 7-6.
It carries Dal Pozzo, ranked No. 50, into a home quarterfinal — and, as it turns out, straight into the biggest win of her day.
Nuria Rodríguez / Giulia Dal Pozzo 3-6 6-3 6-2 Sofia Araujo / Claudia Fernández
Sofia Araujo (No. 8) and Claudia Fernández (No. 6) are beaten by a pair ranked well outside the top 20. Dal Pozzo (No. 50) and Rodríguez back up their last-16 escape with a far bigger scalp, recovering from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and reach the semifinals.
The seeds take the opening set 3-6, but that is the last thing that goes their way. Rodríguez and Dal Pozzo win the second 6-3 and pull clear in the third 6-2, closing out a second victory in the space of a few hours.
It is Dal Pozzo's day. A world No. 50 is into the semifinals of her home Major, having removed a top-six player to get there.
Arturo Coello / Agustín Tapia 6-1 6-1 David Gala / Enzo Jensen
No such theatre for the world No. 1 pair. Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia drop only two games against David Gala (No. 30) and Enzo Jensen (No. 59), winning 6-1, 6-1 to move into the quarterfinals in barely more than an hour.
Gemma Triay / Delfina Brea 6-1 6-1 Patricia Martínez / Claudia Escacena
The top women's pair answer in kind. Gemma Triay and Delfina Brea brush aside Patricia Martínez (No. 57) and Claudia Escacena (No. 76) by an identical 6-1, 6-1, a routine last-16 shift against opponents from outside the top 50.
With Stupaczuk and Yanguas out and Coello and Tapia barely troubled, the men's draw has both a hole and a clear favourite. The women's headline, though, is Dal Pozzo — a world No. 50 into the last four on home soil, with seeds falling all around her.