Mariano Navone won the first ATP Tour title of his career Sunday at the Tiriac Open presented by UniCredit Bank, defeating Daniel Merida 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in the final.
After the match, the Argentine caught up with ATPTour.com to reflect on making his dream come true, the rewards he is giving himself, looking up to Novak Djokovic and David Nalbanian, and more.
What does it mean to win your first ATP Tour title?
It’s everything I dreamed from when I was a kid. When you are a kid, you are looking at the ATP and when you’re looking at the ATP you say, ‘I want to be Djokovic’. I’m not Djokovic for sure, but I won the first title, so I [did] something he [did], so I’m very happy for that. It’s a lot of happiness. The word for the final is happiness.
How special is it to do it in Bucharest after reaching the final here in 2024?
I have many feelings from here. I’ve been here a lot when I played Futures [ITF World Tennis Tour events], when I played Challengers also. So I have a good relationship from 2020 with Bucharest, with Romania.
The people I think are very similar to Argentines. They are passionate, they are people who love [fun] things. We have a good relationship because I’m a fun guy, sometimes I want to show the place, the crowd, everything. I think we have a very special relationship.
What did you learn from your previous two ATP Tour finals? In the first with Baez I was nervous. I made the final [from the] qualies. I was a little bit tired, also. But Baez played unbelievable and he taught me everything in the final.
In the second one with Marton, I was a little bit better. The score was tough, but Marton that day was a very tough player. He made the shots strong and he went to the net. I remember he made a very good game against me. It was all for him.
The third one I said, ‘Keep pushing, keep going’. We had a good chance to play the ball inside [the court], to play with topspin… I think I had to enjoy the final.
You saved two match points in the semi-finals against Van de Zandschulp, what does that say about your mentality?
I think it says a lot because if I missed a ball I had that match, maybe I would lose. Because [in the past] I lost many matches like this. But yesterday was a really, really special battle. I was 3-5, Advantage down and I put all the balls inside. I put everything in that game, also in the next game to take the second set. My mentality in that moment was very important.
I said all the time, ‘Come on, come on. Keep going, one more, one more, one more’. And I think that that is the mentality that makes champs here in Bucharest.
Who are some people you would like to dedicate this trophy to?
To my family, for sure. To my family. My family stayed a lot with me in the past months. My mom, my dad. They taught me everything when I grew up in my town. It was a really good influence. Also my sisters, my sisters are special. They live for me, they stay with me in all the moments. They are always chatting [to] me, ‘Hi! How are you? How do you feel?’ But not about Mariano the tennis [player], the human. Mariano the human is most important for them. I’m [very] thankful for my family.
And also, all my coaches I had in my career. Right now Luli (Mancini) with Dante (Gennaro) also Andy (Delatorre), Fede, Maxi, Matías, Guillermo, my first one, and also one special one who taught me a lot in the mental part, Leandro Veron, from Junin. I was 16 when I was there. In some tournaments I wanted to retire from tennis and he [kept] me in the right way and the way to play. I love him, I chat every day with him, so I am very thankful for him.
How will you be celebrating?
I want to eat [a] hamburger right now with french fries and one coke and that’s it. Now I’m so tired, but maybe I will go to the match of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona on Wednesday. It’s a good thing to make for me.
You say Djokovic and Nalbandian are your idols, what makes them special for you?
Everything, because Djokovic is the GOAT right now. Nalbandian is one of the most special players in my life, it’s unbelievable. The way he played I loved. I think I learned a lot from these two guys on the backhand side. It’s really special.
Now we’re sharing some tournaments with Djoko, also with Nalbandian. He’s Dimitrov’s coach right now. It’s really special, because they taught me a lot on TV. I was growing up seeing these guys on TV, so It’s a really nice feeling to share with these guys tennis right now.
