The action gets under way at the Allianz Cloud. At 9 am on Monday, the Oysho Milano Premier Padel P1 main draw begins with the first round of the men’s competition. Great anticipation surrounds the Italians’ debut, just days after their call-up for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, scheduled to take place from November 2 to 7. The first Italian player to take to the court will be Alvaro Montiel, who won silver in the men’s competition at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto. Partnering Dani Santigosa, he will face Spaniards Pol Hernandez and Manu Castaño on the centre court. If they win, their next opponents will be Jairo Bautista and Lucas Bergamini (11). Next up, also in the top half of the main draw, will be Aris Patiniotis, who will partner Diego Garcia against a qualifying pair. Should they progress, they would face a dream match-up against the world number ones and top seeds in the men’s draw, Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia. Marco Cassetta, who won two bronze medals in Taranto, will partner Argentina’s Fabian Oviedo to take on Javi Barahona and Nacho Piotto. The winners will face Lucas Campagnolo and Momo Gonzalez (7).
In the afternoon, three more players selected for the World Championships will make their debuts in the bottom half of the draw. Not before 4 pm, again on the centre court, Flavio Abbate, ranked 49th in the world and a silver medallist alongside Montiel in the men’s competition at the Mediterranean Games, will make his debut alongside Spaniard Alonso Rodriguez against a qualifying pair. A potential round-of-32 match would see them face Javi Garrido and Juani De Pascual (16). There is also considerable anticipation surrounding another pair set to compete at the World Championships: Simone Iacovino and Giulio Graziotti. In their opening match, they will face Italian-Argentine Enzo Jensen in an all-Italian derby. The winners will take on Argentina’s Martin Di Nenno and Paquito Navarro (5). The Spaniard is one of the players most eagerly awaited by the crowd.
Tomorrow, attention will also turn to the women’s draw, with the second round of qualifying determining who progresses to the main draw, which begins on Tuesday. The spotlight will be on Caterina Baldi and Clarissa Aima, who have been selected for the World Championships for the first time in their careers. With an abundance of Italian talent and a strong field of established names, the Oysho Milano Premier Padel is ready to add another chapter to the sport’s history.