The remarkable journey of Caterina Baldi and Giulia Dal Pozzo at the Milano Premier Padel P1 came to an end in the round of 16. The two wild cards, who advanced through the qualifiers and captivated Italian fans for five days, saw their dream run halted. From their underdog debut — highlighted by a victory over former world number one Carolina Navarro — to reaching the main draw, Baldi and Dal Pozzo finally succumbed in straight sets (6-2 6-2) to the fifth seeds, Lucia Sainz and Patty Llaguno.
Despite the defeat, the pair from Emilia-Romagna expressed great satisfaction. It was their second participation in a Premier Padel event and their first-ever appearance at the Milan tournament. “We’re sad to be out, but Sainz and Llaguno were incredibly strong. Of course, we’re happy with what we’ve achieved”, they commented after the match. “If we had to rate our performance, it’s an 8 out of 10”.
Even on the court, they received praise from Marcela Ferrari, coach of Sainz and Llaguno in Milan and head coach of the Italian national team. After the match, Ferrari warmly hugged the duo to congratulate them.
Thursday morning also saw the end of the journey for another Italian player still in the draw, Carolina Orsi. Partnering with Nuria Rodriguez, Orsi fell 6-0 6-1 to the eighth seeds, Aranzazu Osoro and Veronica Virseda.