Navone confirms his Grand Slam presence in NYC: “It’s a boost of confidence” | ATP Tour

US Open

Navone confirms his Grand Slam present in NYC: “It’s a shot of confidence”

The Argentinean achieves the first victory on hard court at tour level of his career

August 27, 2024

Mariano Navone wants to be one of the biggest names of the 2024 season and the US Open seems like an unbeatable stage to steal the spotlight. The Argentine beat German Daniel Altmaier 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 on Court No. 4 in his first match in the Big Apple on Friday, demonstrating his growth on the big hard courts.

What he achieved on Tuesday was no ordinary triumph for the 9 de Julio player. Navone completed the first victory of his career on hard court at tour level, crossing a personal threshold of enormous merit in New York.

“It’s a very special result because of how I was adapting to these courts. I was working hard to perfect it. I knew that the tournament I was going to be best prepared for was the US Open. But I needed this match to gain confidence. I ended up winning my first set on this American tour and my first match. It’s a necessary injection of confidence,” Navone explained to the media in New York.

On one of the most imposing stages on the circuit, Navone needed to summon up mental strength to turn around a steep match. After completing a North American hard-court swing without a win, losing in his opening match in Montreal, Cincinnati and Winston-Salem, the South American found himself beaten from the start in New York. However, he fought back to win the last three sets without giving up his serve.

“The best thing I did at a certain point was to think: ‘It couldn’t be worse’. I was tense, nervous, with thousands of doubts and ghosts that don’t help in tennis. I also thought: ‘Yes, I’m in the US Open, but playing like this I’m going to go home crying because I didn’t play a great match’. That’s when the match changed,” Navone said after the match.

“In the second set I had a change of energy, the return started to go better, the backhand too, I started to adopt a more aggressive game and to suffer and run more,” adds the No. 36 of the PIF ATP Rankings.

The victory allows Navone to expand his experience in the Grand Slams, where he has confirmed his adaptation to the five-sets. The Argentine played his first main draw in a major just a few weeks ago on the clay of Roland Garros, where he managed to overcome a round as a letter of introduction. That warrior character has been displayed again in Flushing Meadows, where one of the tennis players with the greatest progress of the year seeks to shine.

Navone continues to shape the best season of his career, a 2024 in which he has relentlessly broken down personal barriers. The Argentine reached his first two ATP Tour finals (Bucharest, Rio de Janeiro), going from starting the year outside the Top 100 to being one of the best 30 players on the circuit. That momentum has been reflected in the Grand Slams, where his victories in Paris and New York confirm the best sporting level of his life.

His next challenge will be the winner of the duel between Karen Khachanov or Daniel Evans, with whom he has no previous encounters. “Khachanov has a very good serve, he is very solid at the back, but he also looks to make mistakes. Evans plays incredibly, he has an impressive slice, great spin management and a lot of ease. But, well, being able to play solid I can do damage,” he said.

The first round of the US Open will be completed on Tuesday, with a large Argentine representation in the order of play. Navone’s debut will be followed by his compatriot Federico Coria (vs. Nuno Borges) and Facundo Díaz Acosta (vs. Hugo Gaston), seeking a day of great results for the Argentines in the Big Apple.

Did you know…?
Mariano Navone is the third Argentine player in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Provisionally placed at No. 32, he is only behind his compatriots Francisco Cerúndolo (No. 29) and Sebastián Báez (No. 23).