Navone nearly wins golden set at Montevideo Challenger
Mariano Navone fired through a near-perfect second set en route to reaching the Uruguay Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old, who is aiming for his second ATP Challenger Tour title in three weeks, rallied past former World No. 16 Marco Cecchinato 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 to steer clear of the upset trend in Montevideo. After dropping the opener, Navone stormed back and lost just two points in the entire second set (23/25), nearly claiming a golden set.
Navone won the first 20 points of the second set to lead 5-0 before Cecchinato ended the Argentine’s quest of a golden set. Navone, World No. 72 in the PIF ATP Rankings, then trailed in the early stages of the decider, but tallied four consecutive games from 2-4 to escape.
QFs called, @marianonavone1 answered ☎️
The Argentine rallies from a set down to defeat Cecchinato 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 and book his spot in the last eight in the Uruguayan capital!#ATPChallenger | @uruguayopen pic.twitter.com/s8569sJDoo
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 13, 2025
The clay-court event has featured a flurry of upsets, with top seed Sebastian Baez and defending champion Tristan Boyer falling in the first round, and then on Wednesday, American Emilio Nava was stunned by Brazil’s Gustavo Heide.
Nava was aiming for his 45th Challenger-match win of the year, which would have broken the single-season record amongst Americans. But Heide spoiled those hopes with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 triumph in a two-hour, 42-minute battle against the third seed.
Did You Know?
In 2023, Navone claimed a season-leading five Challenger trophies and the following season he became the first player in the Open Era to be seeded in his first major main draw.