Milan, November 30 – The Milan Premier Padel P1 has begun at the Allianz Cloud, and the first results are already in. In the men’s draw, two Italian pairs have advanced to the next round of the main draw qualifiers. Flavio Abbate and Giulio Graziotti defeated Sergio Alba and Henrique Barbosa in straight sets (6-4, 6-1), while Simone Iacovino and Michele Bruno secured a 7-5, 7-5 victory over the Spanish duo Mercadal/Cabeza.
“We feel a strong connection to the Milan tournament, playing at home is always special,” Graziotti said after the match. “Today, we came onto the court highly motivated, unlike in recent tournaments where we were lacking energy. I believe we have a good chance of making the main draw, even though our opponents are very strong. That’s definitely our goal.” Graziotti also reflected on 2024, during which he and Abbate won five titles on the CUPRA FIP Tour and reached four additional finals. “At the beginning of the year, I would have been thrilled to be where I am now. I came close to breaking into the top 100 of the FIP world rankings (currently ranked 111), and I won’t hide the fact that my goal for 2025 is to climb even higher.” Tomorrow, the Italian pair Abbate/Graziotti will face the Spanish duo Huete/Ramírez.
The second round was also secured by Denis Perino and Jorge Ruiz, as well as Nicolás Suescun and Manuel Castaño (born in 2008). The No. 2 seeds, Pedro Meléndez and Carlos Martí, defeated Pérez/Martínez 7-5, 6-1. The pairs will return to the court tomorrow for the second round of qualifiers. Attention will be on Iacovino and Bruno, who face Meléndez/Martí.
WOMEN Sixteen pairs will compete in the women’s qualifying draw, with four spots in the main draw at stake. The day will open on Court 1 at the Allianz Cloud with an all-Spanish matchup between Lara Arruabarrena/Julia Polo Bautista and Alba Gallardo/Lucia Peralta.
At 10:00 AM, the first of two Italian pairs in the qualifiers will take the court. Emily Stellato and Giulia Sussarello will face Carla Touly and Ana García. The other Italian pair, Caterina Baldi and Giulia Dal Pozzo, will go up against the No. 4 seeds Jana Montes and Carolina Navarro.