Mariano Navone on making dreams come true, hamburger prize: First Time Winner Spotlight | ATP Tour | Tennis

First Time Winner

Mariano Navone on making dreams come true, hamburger reward: Primetime Spotlight

The Argentine speaks exclusively to ATPtour.com after the win in Bucharest

05 April 2026

Mariano Navone won the first ATP Tour title of his career on 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 his dream come true, the rewards it offers, his sights on Novak Djokovic and David Nalbanian, and more.

What does it mean to win your first ATP Tour title?
It’s everything I’ve dreamed of since I was a child. When you’re a kid, you look at the ATP and when you look at the ATP you say, ‘I want to be Djokovic’. I’m not really Djokovic, but I won the first title, so I am [did] that thing a [did]so I’m very happy about that. It’s a lot of fun. The last word is happiness.

How important is it to make it to Bucharest after reaching the final here in 2024?
I have a lot of ideas from here. I’ve been here a lot playing Futures [ITF World Tennis Tour events]when I played Challengers again. So I have a good relationship from 2020 with Bucharest, with Romania.

The people I think are very similar to the people of Argentina. They are enthusiastic, they are loving people [fun] things. We have a good relationship because he is a nice 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 last two ATP Tour finals? The first time with Baez I was nervous. I made the finals [from the] qualities. I was a little tired, too. But Baez played amazing and taught me everything in the end.

In the second with Marton, I was a little better. The score was tough, but Marton that day was a very tough player. He made the shots powerful and headed for the net. I remember he played a very good game against me. It was for him.

The third I said, ‘Go ahead, go ahead’. We had a good opportunity to play football inside [the court]playing toppin… I guess I had to enjoy the finals.

You saved two points in the semi-finals against Van de Zandschulp, what does that say about you?
I think that speaks volumes because if I missed the ball I had, I probably would have lost. Because [in the past] I lost a lot of games like this. But yesterday was a very special fight. I was 3-5, Advantage down and put all the balls in. I gave it my all in that game, and in the next game to take the second set. My opinion at that time was very important.

I was always saying, ‘Come on, come on. Go ahead, one more, one more, one more’. And I think that’s the feeling that makes there are fighters here in Bucharest.

Who would you like to present this trophy to?
To my family, of course. To my family. My family stayed with me a lot in the last months. My mother, my father. They taught me everything when I grew up in my village. It was a really good influence. Also my sisters, my sisters are special. They live for me, they stay with me all the time. They are always talking [to] Me, ‘Hello! How are you doing? How do you feel?’ But not about Mariano tennis [player]a person. Mariano is a very important person to them. i [very] thank you to my family.

Also, all my coaches that I had in my career. Now Luli (Mancini) and Dante (Gennaro) and also Andy (Delatorre), Fede, Maxi, Matías, Guillermo, my first, and also a special one who taught me a lot in the psychological aspect, Leandro Veron, from Junin. I was 16 years old when I was there. In some tournaments I wanted to quit tennis with him [kept] me in the right way and the way to play. I love him, I talk to him every day, so I thank him very much.

How will you be celebrating?
I want to eat [a] hamburger now with french fries and one coke and that’s it. I am very tired now, but I will probably go to the Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona game on Wednesday. It’s a good thing to do for me.

You say Djokovic and Nalbandian are your idols, what makes them special to you?
Everything, because Djokovic is the GAME now. Nalbandian is one of the most special players in my life, it’s unbelievable. I liked the way he played. I think I learned a lot from these two guys on the backhand side. It’s really special.

Now we share competitions with Djoko, and also with Nalbandian. He is Dimitrov’s coach now. It’s very special, because they taught me a lot on TV. I grew up watching these guys on TV, so it’s a great feeling to share tennis with these guys now.