Qualifier Mariano Navone kept his winning streak at the Rio Open presented by Claro this Friday night against local-sensation João Fonseca.
The Argentinian, who made his ATP Tour debut two weeks ago in Cordoba as a wild card and then qualified for Buenos Aires, last week, scored his first ever ATP Tour win in the first round of the Rio Open when he defeated fellow countryman Federico Coria.
In the semis, this Saturday at Quadra Guga Kuerten, he will face reigning champion Cameron Norrie.
“To be in a semifinal in my first ATP event coming from the qualifying is simply unbelievable. Today against Joao I had to fight my nerves, the weather and a guy who’s playing really well. I never played in a stadium this full and I could not be happier with the win”, said the 22-year-old.
“Here every match is gonna be tough, no matter who you play. You have to play the best players and that’s what we want. Today Norrie had some difficulties defeating [Thiago Seyboth] Wild and I’m going to do all I can to make his life difficult. Last week Coria beat Norrie and this week I beat Coria, so you never know”, added Navone. He will appear as world’s number 76 on Monday with the victory.
As for Fonseca, who made history becoming the first player born in 2006 to win a main-draw tour-level match, the week in Rio was a fairytale.
“It was a dream week for me. This was the biggest tournament I ever watched as a kid and I always dreamed of playing here. To be winning matches in here at such a young age, against great players is really special to me. It’s gonna be a week I will always remember. I want to thank the crowd for the support and now I need to work to keep having more moments like this”, said Fonseca, winner of last year’s US Open boys’ tittle.
ORDER OF PLAY - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2024
QUADRA GUGA KUERTEN start 5:00 pm
[5] S. Baez (ARG) vs [4] F. Cerundolo (ARG)
[WC] J. Fonseca (BRA) or [Q] M. Navone (ARG) vs T. Seyboth Wild (BRA) or [2] C. Norrie (GBR)
Wheelchair Elite Doubles Pro - A. Hewett (GBR) / G. Reid (GBR) vs S. Kunieda (JPN) / D. Rodrigues (BRA)
QUADRA 1 start 5:00 pm
S. Doumbia (FRA) / F. Reboul (FRA) vs A. Erler (AUT) / L. Miedler (AUT)
