The fabulous world of tennis has these things. Suspensions due to rain, lack of natural light or, in this curious case, due to not having enough front-line fields. Play, stop, get back on the field. Today Tomorrow. And the wheel continues. The ATP 250 in Bucharest, a brand of Ion Șiriac (84 years old), is usually seen with a fervent, enthusiastic audience, on the edge. Mariano Navone He nourishes himself with that external passion in the season of his life. She doesn’t mind unforeseen interruptions: she adapts to everything. He plays in the clouds.
He is 23 years old, he was born on July 9 and he doesn’t stop growing. She finishes the match suspended in the Romanian morning with a hot hand and, after a while, she rests, has a light lunch and goes out to the court, again. And he wins, he doesn’t stop winning. With a cool mind and a variety of resources, he reached another ATP final, the second of his career and is projected among the top 40 on the circuit. He is already 41°! From a true unknown to running an unstoppable race: the good thing is that the goal is closer every day.
First, he completed the victory against Francisco Cerúndolo 5-7, 6-4 and 7-5. She had reached the third consecutive ATP semi-final. Later, he knocked down the Frenchman Grégoire Barrère for 6-3 and 6-4 and will play this Sunday, from 9, a new final. This time, against the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, who won over the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 6-3 and 6-4. He finishes the task with the usual smile: that of a child. He greets people, almost touching the hands of some young Romanians, enthusiastic about his rising figure. He lifts the stadium, once again. “It is a pleasure to play in a final again. I’m here, I’m here to win! I hope that tomorrow I have the same breath that I had here.” And the applause falls.
Three weeks ago, he got the shock of his life. She couldn’t stop smiling: that genuine expression, a kind of complete and ephemeral happiness. In reality, what she had just gotten Navone It was forever, that’s why his face showed it like this, naturally, after winning the point, the match and walking quickly towards the net. There was a legend. A “hero” of his adolescence, as he explained well in a developing English. He hugged Stan Wawrinka, the Swiss man with the exquisite hand, who is close to retirement and conveyed to him how much he admires him. A greeting that exceeds the framework of a tennis match. It was about something else.
“This is incredible, he is one of my heroes,” he said. Mariano, which continues to grow by leaps and bounds. He prevailed over the Swiss legend and reached the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 de Marrakesh when imposed by 3-6, 7-5 and 6-2 in two hours and 20 minutes of play, in Morocco. A precise combination of mind and heart. His enthusiasm stopped in the semifinals, but he understood perfectly that the path is the path. No turns.
After reaching the final in Rio de Janeiro (where he lost with Sebastian Baez) his dizzying performance allowed him to quickly climb positions in the ranking. The young man born on 9 de Julio, province of Buenos Aires, aged 23, is living his first ATP experiences outside of South America with a hot hand.
In Rio de Janeiro he made the great leap in quality last February. After that major impact, he stopped the machine, worn out physically and mentally and preferred to avoid the Masters 1000 of Indian Wells y Miami. Owner of five Challenger titles, pupil of Andrés Dellatorre, still up to par. And with a smile.
The Navonetathe nickname that emerged from the play on words inspired by the Scaloneta, the nickname of the Argentine soccer team, world champion in Qatar 2022, reached a speed, until now, unknown. The tennis player from the Buenos Aires town of 9 de Julio is enjoying a radiant, glorious moment. Before the Rio de Janeiro tournament, he had never won an ATP-level match (with a record of 0-2). However, in Rio, he became the eleventh player to surpass the classification and reach an ATP 500 final, the category created in 2009.
The shocking growth in the ranking, from 113th until today, changed the scenario. “I had great perseverance that makes me proud,” says Navone. And he expanded, in an intimate talk with La Nación: “I was able to put up with the moments when I was not doing well and crashes against the wall. Therefore, what I enjoy most today is looking back and then looking forward and knowing that I am going to play the ATP, that I will be close to the Masters 1000 and that I will do some unexpected tour, like the grass tour. I am happy for what happens to me. What I experienced in Rio is exciting. And everything exploded: messages, number of followers, greetings… These things sometimes happen in tennis and I am happy to be able to live what I always dreamed of”.