Of all the ways there are to reach the elite, one of the most special is the one Mariano Navone has taken. This 22-year-old Argentine player is making history at the ATP Rio Open 2024, breaking predictions and reaching a final just 20 days after playing the first match at the ATP level in his career.
Life gives you surprises and one of the most pleasant in the world of tennis is the one that embodies Mariano Navone this week. Although it is true that the most general fan of this sport would not have much knowledge of this player, the most seasoned tennis followers could expect a great upward trend for the Argentine this year, after what he achieved in the final stretch of 2023. Since June, the one from Tucumán has won five tournaments in the ATP Challenger Tour and she finished in another, showing that she was prepared to make a great qualitative leap. What no one expected is that this jump would be so fast and pronounced, as to get into a final of the ATP 500 Río Open 2024 in his third tournament at the ATP level, breaking his record of victories this week and ensuring his emergence among the top 60 in the world.
Today, in a mini random story: four years ago, no one wanted to give rackets to Navone, it had no agency or manager. With a few emails, a lot of WhatsApp and promising that he had potential, we got him his first international contract. They gave us this and this is how I signed it. The rest is cinema. pic.twitter.com/H2qLUO4ENf
— Marcos Zugasti (@marcos_z) February 25, 2024
Hard work always pays off and what Navone has done, unconditionally encouraged by the Argentine public, embodies one of the most impressive stories in recent tennis. He did not stand out in the junior category and had serious difficulties finding the financial support that would allow him to travel and earn a progressive promotion to the elite. In fact, four years ago he begged through cold emails for a sponsorship with a sports brand, which would provide him with material such as rackets, grips or backpacks. He lacked an agent or manager, and it was he himself, along with journalist Mario Zugasti, who made a living so that someone could finance his progress. Everything seemed to be going well, but at the end of 2021 he realized that he needed to profoundly change a stroke if he wanted to continue evolving.
– Navone opted to completely change the grip on its right three years ago
Mariano demonstrated his humility and capacity for sacrifice by completely modifying his forehand. He forgot everything he had learned throughout his life and completely reset to start hitting with a different grip and a modified swing, something really complex and requiring a lot of time and effort to adapt and acquire new automatisms. The results were immediate and soon his ranking began to skyrocket. As soon as things were improving and he could afford it, he hired a psychologist to work with him, aware of the importance of mental health and managing pressure and expectations in the career of a professional tennis player. He has been burning through stages with overwhelming naturalness and proof of this is that less than a year ago he was losing in the first round of the ITF M25 Tucumán before the 409th in the world. Nobody could imagine that right now he was in a position to win an ATP 500 title.
MARCH 2023: Mariano Navone (#209) lost in 1st round of the M25 de Tucuman to Eduardo Ribeiro (#409).
FEBRUARY 2024: Mariano Navone (#113) plays the final of the ATP 500 in Rio.
In less than a year how the life and career of a tennis player can change.
HOW BEAUTIFUL IS CRAZY TENNIS!!! pic.twitter.com/iWIAEZ4xB7
— TucuTenis (@TenisTucu) February 25, 2024
Whatever happens in the final of the ATP Río Open 2024 ante Sebastian Baez, what is clear is that this player still has room for improvement and the will to achieve great success through hard work. He will enter a new scenario in his professional career, which will require him to leave his comfort zone, that is, the clay, to compete more frequently on hard courts, where he has barely made any progress in his rise to the elite. It won’t be easy, but if there is someone who seems capable of achieving it, it is him. Mariano Navone He wants to continue enjoying a memorable experience and burning his name into the collective imagination of this sport.
2024-02-25 09:37:39
#Mariano #Navone #curious #story
