If you were to watch Mariano Navone, you would likely hear his fellow Argentines chanting, ‘La Navoneta!’ The 22-year-old, who has won two consecutive ATP Challenger Tour titles, received this nickname when he first came onto the scene two years ago.

Then-ranked No. 582 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Navone was given a wild card at the Buenos Aires Challenger in October 2021. He earned his maiden ATP Challenger Tour victory that week and local fans began to call him ‘La Navoneta’. The nickname has stuck.

“In Argentina, the national football team’s manager is Lionel Scaloni. ‘La Scaloneta’ is the nickname of the team that all of the people in Argentina use,” Navone told ATPTour.com. “So ‘La Navoneta’ is like the same, but with less people because I’m not very famous!

“I enjoy it because the people represent me with that name. The people don’t say, ‘Mariano’, they say ‘La Navoneta!’”

Navone instantly found success at the Challenger level, competing in three finals in his first six tournaments. But he initially struggled to go one step further to stand in the winners’ circle. The 22-year-old has since flipped the script. Navone is riding a 10-match winning streak with triumphs at the Poznan and Santa Fe Challengers.

“It’s unbelievable, two titles in a row. In Poznan, I won my first Top-100 match [against Federico Coria] and my first title. That week was so special,” Navone said. “After I played in Poznan, I went to Wimbledon and there I played bad, it was difficult to play on grass. Then I was happy to win at home [in Santa Fe], it was my first time to win at home. It’s unbelievable, I won the final with my family in the box, and my coach and physio. I played all the matches and didn’t lose a set.

“When I won in Poznan, the first thing I had in my brain was, ‘Relax!’. Now, I’m a champion. I relaxed and then I enjoyed it because of all my work over the years. When I lost the three finals, I lost because I was very nervous. I was very nervous in this final too but I could control it. When I lost the final last year in Villa Maria, I was frustrated because I played three Challenger finals and two Futures finals and I never won. It was difficult in my head.”

Navone, who is at a career-high World No. 164 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, stated that the ATP Challenger Tour has been crucial in helping him develop his young career.

“Challengers have changed my life. I made my first final in 2022 in Corrientes. In that moment, I was around 520 in the rankings. The level of Challengers has given me everything,” Navone said. “The matches have a lot of intensity. The competition, the players are so special. They’ve developed my game and mentally. It’s very difficult to win.”

Boasting a 20-13 season record at the Challenger level, the Argentine will next be in action at the Internazionali di Tennis Verona in Italy, where play runs from 24-30 July.

What will Carlos Alcaraz do to relax the day before playing in the Wimbledon final? Juan Carlos Ferrero, the coach of the No. 1 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is in no doubt.

“Little more than we have been doing, there’s no need to create a new routine,” Ferrero said. “Today will be a relaxed day: a little bit of gym, be fresh for tomorrow and try to keep him away from the phone, from anything from the outside. That’s our job. I don’t know if we’ll achieve it because it’s a losing battle, but I advised him yesterday to try and stay away from anything that is said about the final. And, of course, to try and enjoy playing and to fight to the death for the match.”

On Sunday, Alcaraz will take on Novak Djokovic for the Wimbledon title in the second Grand Slam final of his career. Although he won his first, almost a year ago at the US Open (where he defeated Casper Ruud), this time the challenge is even greater: the Serbian has won seven of the last eight finals he has played at the All England Club, where he is currently on a 34-match winning streak.

“If we make the giant even bigger it is impossible to beat him,” Ferrero said. “We’re going to take it to him and forget the stats. He’s a player, with two arms and two legs like us. We have to be at 100 per cent to put on a good match, forgetting about history and the numbers. If we take that baggage with us, it [will be] extremely difficult. Carlos has beaten him once and then there was Paris. He has had both experiences. We hope that the third will be better than the previous two.”

When Ferrero mentions Paris, he is referring to the semi-final between the Spaniard and Serbian one month ago at Roland Garros, where Alcaraz was unable to compete in the third and fourth sets due to severe cramps caused by nerves. Ferrero summed up in one word how the Murcia native should respond to that episode: learn.

“In the end, when you play more times against someone, you learn to handle the rhythm,” Ferrero said. “The situation is similar. Maybe here Djokovic is the favourite and that could benefit Carlos. What we have to do is to get him to play relaxed and fluid. Nobody goes out into a Wimbledon final feeling relaxed from the start, above all because of the difficulties the opponent will create for us.”

Ferrero added: “We have to concentrate more on Carlos, on the problems Djokovic might create for him. We know the level Nole will produce is extremely high. It will kind of depend on Alcaraz’s level.

“The performance he produced against Medvedev was very interesting with a view to Sunday. The opponent is different and the situation is too. In Paris we also had the feeling that he was playing very well and in the end things took a turn for the worse.”

Ferrero also spoke about what else he can do to help Alcaraz before a match of this magnitude, and the future of the 20-year-old on grass, a surface on which he took the title at Queen’s Club this year and where he is now in the Wimbledon final.

“I talk to him more about situations that he may find himself in on court. What he might feel when he walks out for a final or when he might feel the most pressure,” Ferrero said. “I really like to think about the present. Like when people ask me how many majors he’ll win, he has the opportunity to win many. But talking about how many is a mistake. If his body is physically up to it, he has the chance to do great things at this tournament.”

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski broke the Grand Slam barrier in style Saturday at Wimbledon, where the top-seeded pairing outclassed Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos to lift their maiden major crown.

The Dutch-British team prevailed 6-4, 6-4 to spark emotional celebrations on Centre Court. Koolhof and Skupski’s imaginative returning earned them the only break of each set as they wrapped a 76-minute victory, their first in three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with Granollers and Zeballos.

“[It’s] very special,” said Koolhof. “It started when the doors [to Centre Court] opened, and one and half hours later to hold this [trophy] is very, very special.”

“I don’t know what to say,” said Skpuski. “Growing up watching this amazing championships, starting off a young boy at Palmerston Tennis Club in Liverpool. Going out there with my dad, and then obviously growing up with my brother (Ken Skupski) who has been very influential in my career.

“This feeling at the moment doesn’t get better. Me and Wesley came together 18 months ago, and this year this was one of our goals. To win a Grand Slam. Now we’ve done it, it feels very special.”

Dominant all tournament 👏

The top seeds knock out Granollers/Zeballos 6-4 6-4 to claim the title 🏆 Wimbledon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Wimbledon | Wimbledon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Wimbledon

pic.twitter.com/HwnSaepqya

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 15, 2023

Koolhof and Skupski broke their opponents’ serve in the seventh game of the first set and the fifth game of the second, breakthroughs which they backed up with a dominant serving display. The duo faced just one break point and won 40 of 50 points behind their delivery overall.

The victory helped banish painful memories of Koolhof and Skupski’s previous major final as a team. The pair fell in straight sets to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury at the US Open last September, but showed no sign of nerves on Saturday in London as it sealed victory to return to first place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

“[Our next goal] is to rock the [Champions’ Ball] tomorrow evening,” joked Koolhof, who also reached the 2020 US Open final alongside Nikola Mektic. “Obviously we have a few more tournaments to go this year. The US Open, the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin is obviously a goal. I was lucky enough to win it here in London in 2020, so I will do my best to get Neal on board and have that one as well.”

Skupski is the first Briton to triumph in the Wimbledon men’s doubles since Jonathan Marray in 2012, while Koolhof is the first Dutchman since Jean-Julien Rojer in 2015. It is another milestone in a meteoric rise for the team, which has now won nine tour-level titles since coming together at the start of the 2022 season.

Granollers and Zeballos were attempting to become the first Spaniard and Argentine, respectively, to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles crown. The pair was playing in their third major final, having also suffered championship-match defeat at the 2019 US Open and Wimbledon in 2021.

“We tried to win, but I think the guys really deserved it. They played much better than us,” said Zeballos. “They knew how to play under pressure, we didn’t… Right now I am a little bit sad, but before the week, if I had to sign for [reaching the] final, of course I would do it every time.”

“We’ve had good years together. Already our fourth season playing very good,” reflected Granollers. “We are trying hard every day to get these kinds of titles, so we will keep trying and practising hard to one day get this one.”

It’s the Wimbledon final we’ve all been anticipating — even the players themselves, as Carlos Alcaraz admitted earlier this fortnight. The meeting between World No. 1 Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, who is chasing a calendar-year Grand Slam, was never really in doubt, such was their respective dominance in advancing to the title round.

Both men have lost just two sets in six wins at The Championships, and both played their very best tennis on Friday in a pair of straight-sets semi-final victories — Djokovic against Jannik Sinner and then Alcaraz against Daniil Medvedev.

It sets up an “ultimate showdown”, as Djokovic called it, that promises to be monumental in both its quality and its significance. In addition to deciding who will lift the Wimbledon title — Djokovic is bidding for his fifth straight and eighth overall, while Alcaraz will contest his first final on Centre Court — the matchup will determine who leaves London atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

It won’t be Alcaraz’s first rodeo in that respect: The No. 1 spot was also on the line when he beat Casper Ruud in his first major final at last year’s US Open. But a win against Djokovic, owner of a record 23 Grand Slam mens’ singles titles, might be even more significant.

“It gives you extra motivation. I think it’s more special to play a final against a legend from our sport,” Alcaraz said of the matchup. “If I win, it could be amazing for me. Not only to win a Wimbledon title but to do it against Novak would be super special.”

Most Grand Slam Men’s Singles Titles

The 20-year-old Spaniard, 16 years Djokovic’s junior, is on the fast track to becoming one of the all-time greats of the sport himself. (The age gap is the third largest in a men’s major final.) Alcaraz has already proven his otherworldly talent on hard and clay courts, but this year his game has begun to sprout on the grass. Djokovic singled out his opponent’s successful adaptation on the lawns for particular praise, noting similarities to himself in that regard.

“I don’t think many people expected him to play so well [on grass] because his game is basically built and constructed and developed for clay mostly or slower hard courts. But he’s been incredibly successful in adapting to the surfaces and demands and challenges of opponents on a given day,” the Serbian said of Alcaraz.

“I see this as a great trait, as a great virtue. I see this as one of my biggest strengths throughout my career, that I was able to constantly develop, adapt, and adjust my game depending on the challenges basically. That’s what he’s doing very early on in his career.”

There is one key area where Alcaraz must evolve in order to avenge his semi-final defeat to Djokovic at Roland Garros. In Paris, the Spaniard had the wind in his sails after outplaying his opponent down the stretch of the second set. But with the match level at one-set all, Alcaraz began to suffer from cramp — an issue he blamed on nerves rather than fatigue.

The Spaniard is at his best when he is playing with a smile on his face. But his joy was diminished by the gravity of his semi-final showdown against Djokovic — the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting at a major.

“I’ll try to pull out all nerves, try to enjoy that moment, because probably in the semi-final at the French Open I didn’t enjoy at all in the first set,” said Alcaraz, who will talk with his psychologist as part of his preparations for the final. “I’ll do something different from that match. I’ll prepare the match a little bit different from French Open. It’s going to be different for me. I hope not to get cramp during the final. I think I’ll be better on Sunday.”

The final push 👊Wimbledon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Wimbledon | #wimbledon | @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/kFZqb136xh

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 14, 2023

While Alcaraz was the favourite in that Roland Garros matchup, he’ll face a different kind of pressure as the underdog at Wimbledon, where Djokovic is riding a 34-match winning streak. Adding to the stress is the size of the task before him: breaking down Djokovic’s watertight grass-court game.

“I have to get deep into [my tactics] because Novak has no weakness, so it’s going to be really tough to find the way to be danger for him,” the Spaniard said. “He’s a really complete player. He’s amazing. He does nothing wrong on the court. Physically he’s a beast. Mentally he’s a beast. Everything is unbelievable for him,” Alcaraz later added.

Djokovic has lost just three service games in his six Wimbledon wins this year, saving 16 of 19 break points. He had never been broken fewer than five times en route to any of his previous 34 Grand Slam finals. Alcaraz has dropped serve six times on 25 break points against.

2023 Tour-Level Wins Leaders

In addition to his excellence on the court at Wimbledon, Djokovic has also proven to be quite the performer in front of the microphone this fortnight. Prior to his quarter-final win against Andrey Rublev, he trialled a joke about his opponent’s “scary” grunts in the press room. After his win, he delivered a fine-tuned version of the line in front of the Centre Court crowd.

In that same on-court interview, the 36-year-old dropped one of the lines of the fortnight, describing the younger generation’s efforts to dethrone him at Wimbledon: “I know that they want to get a scalp, they want to win. But it ain’t happening, still,” he said with perfect comedic timing. “Very humble!”

As good as that was, Djokovic might have one-upped himself with his closing remarks in press, previewing the final.

“He’s very motivated. He’s young. He’s hungry,” he said of Alcaraz. 

“I’m hungry, too, so let’s have a feast!” he added with a smile.

Daniil Medvedev was not quite sure how to feel after his best Wimbledon run ended with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 semi-final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz on Friday. Though he fell two wins short of his second Grand Slam title, the World No. 3 advanced beyond the fourth round for the first time at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, meaning he has now reached at least the quarter-finals at all four majors.

“If one would ask me [before the tournament], ‘Are you happy with the semi-final?’ I’m like yes and no,” he said in his post-match press conference. “For sure if I’m in the semi-finals, I want to win it. I want to play against Novak on Sunday. I want to try to hold the trophy.

“But it’s my best Wimbledon so far. Normally on grass I didn’t feel amazing. These two weeks I felt great. I’m trying usually after the losses to find the positives. I was in the four best players of the tournament, together with amazing players: Jannik [Sinner], Novak [Djokovic], and Carlos.”

Medvedev felt he put in a respectable showing against Alcaraz. Unfortunately for him, it was not enough to seriously trouble the top player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“He’s a very strong player,” Medvedev said of his opponent. “I would say in general to compare like the Big 3, they’re amazing, they win so many Grand Slams, they win so many matches. He’s kind of like them. He’s still 20. Already has one Grand Slam. Playing great. Been No. 1 for many, many weeks.

“At the same time, I managed before in my career to beat the best players in the world, including some of the Big 3… You have to play your best. You have to play your absolute best.

“I didn’t play bad, but I didn’t play my absolute best. Against someone like Carlos, Novak, Rafa, you need to be at your best. Maybe against other guys you can be playing not bad, you’re going to have your chances, during the match you’re going to find something to work with. With Carlos, you need to be at your absolute best and that’s how you can win. Unfortunately, I was not.”

While Medvedev said he had some struggles adapting to the Centre Court conditions after four previous matches on No. 1 Court, he gave full credit to Alcaraz for his emphatic victory.

“He was putting pressure,” Medvedev said. “I was doing some second serves 100 miles per hour. Pretty decent second serves. He was crushing them. I tried.”

Though Medvedev will not watch the final as he digests his defeat, he thinks Alcaraz has a real chance of ending Djokovic’s Wimbledon reign on Sunday.

“It’s a very great match. I’m not going to lie, it’s a very great match to watch, but I’m not going to watch it because I’m going to be too disappointed to not be there,” he said. “I lost. I don’t deserve to be there in the final because I didn’t win today.”