The Day3 of the Milano Premier Padel P1 began with great news for Italian padel: Carlotta Casali (number 52 in the FIP ranking) and Emily Stellato (number 60) qualified for the round of 16 in the women’s draw, thanks to a 6-2 7-6 win over Spain’s Araceli Martinez and Sara Ruiz Soto. A new pair, the one formed by the 30-year-old from Rome and the 41-year-old from Latina, but who in just a few weeks first won the Absolute Italian Championships in Parma, then took away the great satisfaction of passing the first round at the Allianz Cloud. Casali/Stellato cancelled a set point in a very tight second set, before winning at the tiebreak. “I’m very happy – Stellato said –. When I play, I don’t think about the score but about the single point and this gives me an advantage mentally”. At 41, Emily is in a great moment: “I say to everyone: ‘Don’t stop, as long as there is passion, don’t set yourself limits’”.
Casali, who lives in Spain, was playing in the CUPRA FIP Finals in Turin a year ago, paired with Spain’s Marta Borrero. Here she is today, happy with Stellato’s proposal to play together, which she described as “indecent”, after Giulia Sussarello, who shared the ‘pista’ with Emily, is to become a mother in a few months and has happily chosen to stop. “From the first moment we started playing together there is great harmony, I can’t wait for the next game – says Casali –. The level is very high: we would have stayed on the court for six hours to win”. It only took one and 38 minutes to celebrate.