The seeds did not hold at the Italy Major. Franco Stupaczuk and Miguel Yanguas, the men's No. 6/7 pairing, are out in the round of 16, beaten in straight sets by Jerónimo González and Lucas Campagnolo. On the women's side, an Italian home run gathered momentum: Giulia Dal Pozzo and Nuria Rodríguez won twice in a day to reach the semifinals.
Jerónimo González / Campagnolo 6-4 7-6 Stupaczuk / Yanguas
Ranked No. 14 and No. 21, González and Campagnolo were the clear underdogs against the No. 6/7 seeds. They played like anything but. The first set went the outsiders' way at 6-4, a margin that already hinted this would not be the routine afternoon the seeds expected.
The second tightened into a tiebreak. It was González and Campagnolo who held their nerve to take it 7-6 and close out the match in straights, denying Stupaczuk and Yanguas the lifeline of a decider.
It is the heaviest scalp of the men's draw so far. Stupaczuk and Yanguas, still finding their rhythm as a partnership, leave a quarter they would have fancied, and the bottom half of the bracket opens up around the round's most unlikely survivors.
Dal Pozzo / Rodríguez 6-4 0-6 7-6 Orsi / Llaguno
This one swung violently. Dal Pozzo and Rodríguez took the opener 6-4, then were handed a 6-0 bagel in the second — a total reset that put the momentum squarely with Carolina Orsi and Patricia Llaguno.
The decider went the full distance, settled only in a tiebreak. Dal Pozzo and Rodríguez edged it 7-6 to survive. Comfortable, then blanked, then clutch: the swing across the three sets tells you how close this came to going the other way.
Dal Pozzo / Rodríguez 3-6 6-3 6-2 Araújo / Fernández
Then came the upset. Dal Pozzo, ranked No. 50, and Rodríguez backed up their morning escape by taking out the No. 6/8 seeds Claudia Fernández and Sofía Araújo — a pairing more than 40 places above them on paper.
The seeds took the first set 6-3, but the momentum reversed for good after that. Dal Pozzo and Rodríguez ran out the second 6-3 and pulled clear in the third, 6-2, a three-setter that grew more one-sided as it went.
It carries them into the semifinals as comfortably the lowest-ranked pair left standing — and sends the local favourite into the final four on home soil.
Coello / Tapia 6-1 6-1 Gala / Jensen
No drama for the world No. 1s. Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia needed only 6-1, 6-1 to dispatch David Gala and Enzo Jensen, a statement of intent rather than a contest. They reach the quarterfinals having barely been tested.
Triay / Brea 6-1 6-1 Martínez / Escacena
The women's No. 1 pair matched the scoreline exactly. Gemma Triay and Delfina Brea swept past Patricia Martínez Fortún and Claudia Escacena 6-1, 6-1, conceding just two games on the way through.
It was the second 6-1, 6-1 of the day from a top seed, and the easiest possible passage into the last eight.
The men's bottom half is suddenly wide open with Stupaczuk and Yanguas gone, while Dal Pozzo and Rodríguez will carry Italian hopes — and the longest odds — into the women's semifinals. Coello/Tapia and Triay/Brea, meanwhile, look ominous.