Mariano Navone capped a dramatic run to his first ATP Tour title on Sunday at the Tiriac Open presented by UniCredit Bank.
The Argentine denied Spanish qualifier Daniel Merida in a chaotic final, converting his third championship point to seal a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory. Navone, who had fallen short in his previous two tour-level finals — including in Bucharest in 2024 — failed to serve out the match at 5-3 in the deciding set, but eventually regrouped to win after two hours and 17 minutes.
All smiles in Bucharest 🏆
— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 5, 2026
Navone captures his first ATP Tour title, taking down Merida 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 🫡#TiriacOpen2026 pic.twitter.com/WNxTY1JLNo
“I’m so happy right now. It’s my first ATP title,” Navone said in his on-court interview. “There are a lot of emotions right now. When I was a kid, I dreamed of winning these tournaments on the big stages. For me, right now, I’m very happy and I don’t know what to say.”
The title run capped a remarkable 48 hours for Navone. On Saturday, he saved two match points in a three-and-a-half-hour semi-final against Botic van de Zandschulp before returning to edge another dramatic contest in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Merida. The Spaniard had not won a tour-level match prior to his breakout week.
In Sunday’s final, Merida surged to a 3-1 lead in the deciding set, only for Navone to respond with four straight games to seize control. Yet the Argentine tightened at the finish line and produced a double fault on his first match point, allowing Merida one last opening. In a dramatic closing stretch, however, Navone steadied himself to finally clinch victory and climb over the net to embrace Merida.
“Daniel is such a good player, he hits the ball so well,” Navone said. “It was such a difficult match. 1-3 in the third set… Two match points, double fault. But in the end, I came back, so I have very good feelings.”
With his maiden ATP Tour crown, Navone has risen 18 places to No. 42 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will return to the Top 50 on Monday for the first time since February last year.
Despite defeat, Merida can reflect on a dream run and a new milestone. The Spaniard is up to No. 101 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will secure a new career high in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday.
