…
Aged 23, the Argentinian player could become the first player in history to play his first Grand Slam tournament as a top seed!
Ranked 31st in the world before the Masters 1000 in Rome, Mariano Navone is virtually seeded for Roland Garros but, to establish the final list, the organizers of the Parisian tournament will take into account the ATP ranking of May 20.
Still 120th in the world at the start of January, after a magnificent 2023 on the Challenger circuit, the incredible Navone shone from his appearance on the ATP circuit by reaching the final in Rio and Bucharest, and the semi in Marrakech.
Last week he beat Matteo Berrettini in the final of the Challenger, very strong from Cagliari and today has 1339 ATP points. Quite incredibly, 100% of his points were won on clay.
A hard worker, a very humble player, Mariano Navone will be closely scrutinized in Rome, and perhaps the following week in Turin, in the event of early elimination on the courts of the Foro Italico.
If he obtains one or two additional successes between now and May 20, he will become the first player in history to play his first Grand Slam as a top seed.
For this player, the record is jointly held by Peter Rennert at the 1979 Australian Open, Guillermo Pérez Roldán at Roland Garros 1988, Alberto Mancini at Roland-Garros 1989, Félix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon 2019 and Aslan Karatsev at Roland Garros 2021, who were all seeded in their 2nd participation in a Grand Slam.
…
…
Navone’s rapid rise setting a few weird records. Top 30 in live rankings with 100% of his points coming on clay. https://t.co/QxwAWFR5kY pic.twitter.com/O9pmMDXeW9
— Henry Breadstick (@henrybreadstick) May 6, 2024