Years that end in 6 are special for the tennis player from Santiago Marco Trungelliti. In 2006 he played for an Argentine team for the last time in Barcelona: in the Junior Davis Cup, together with Guido Pella and Facundo Bagnis. A decade later, in 2016, he was a sparring partner for the national team Davis Cup who won the only Salad Bowl (they were in the semi-final against Great Britain in Glasgow and in the final against Croatia in Zagreb). And in 2026 he will be offered the opportunity he has dreamed of: to be a member, but as a player, of the team that will visit South Korea in February for the first round of qualifying. Another note about characters that end with the number 6: In the series in Busan he will already be 36 years old.
Whether coincidence or not, the appointment of the coaching staff and the opportunity to debut against South Korea (it will be single 2, under Thiago Tirante and ahead of Federico Gómez) fill Trungelliti with joy, an athlete who has gone through an alternation of physical and emotional states over the last seven or eight years. When Eduardo Schwank, the vice-captain, wrote him a message a few days ago, he had no idea that the contact had something to do with the series in Asia: he was thinking of something else. But when he saw the Roldán native’s proposal, he was shocked. A few minutes later he was talking to Captain Javier Frana and his heartbeat quickened.
He shared the news with Nadir, his wife and his great support when times were not easy; He bit his tongue because of a reservation request, but didn’t spread the word any further. Aside from the absences on Korean soil, Trunge’s presence is a consequence of his desire and the work he has focused on over the last two seasons, aiming to enter the top 100 for the first time in his career (his best place was 112th in March 2019). In 2025 he won three Challengers titles: in Lyon, Tulln (Austria) and Targu Mures (Romania).
“I have very good feelings, very right, because Making a debut in the national jersey at this age means a lotespecially considering that I last represented the country at the U16 World Cup in Barcelona almost twenty years ago. There were Pella and Bagnis; I was single 3 and only played one game (he beat Moroccan Reda Karakhi),” Trungelliti said THE NATIONfrom Perth, where he is part of the mixed national team competing in the United Cup.
And he continued without being able to hide his satisfaction, the same that his parents, Susana and Luis, already had in Santiago del Estero: “Obviously a lot of things go through my mind, decisions that in the end, especially in the last two years, had to do with the possibility of playing for Andorra, the place where I have decided, at least for the moment, to spend the rest of my life; in fact, my son (Mauna, 3 years old) is Andorran.” The fact that this opportunity comes to me is something that I have always dreamed of and that I have not completely ruled out. because during these years I always dreamed of reaching my best level and that what I have left is the best I can give. Receiving this award is fantastic. I am very grateful for the option that both Schwank and Frana offer me; The fact that they thought of me is spectacular. I would like to thank them and now want to do everything I can to represent the country as best as possible.”
Trungelliti, coached by Spaniard Albert Portas (19th on the ATP Tour in 2001), caused a stir in February 2019 when he tired of being maliciously accused of being a “snitch”. Since this revelation – in LA NACION – with global repercussions, he has sharpened his critical position towards the Tour authorities and a system that does not protect players outside the top 100. Some of the international press described him as “the Colin Kaepernick of tennis,” alluding to the American football player who launched a protest movement against racism and flew a kind of fair play flag.
But this “boldness” didn’t come for free. Telling the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) how a person who supposedly wanted to sponsor him ended up trying to corrupt him and later speaking on a topic as sensitive as never before, hurt, wore down and even scared him. He settled abroad (in Andorra after moving to Barcelona) and had less public support than expected from his colleagues after the complaint. Yes, John McEnroe defended vigorously and Novak Djokovic also supported him (“I’ll always be there,” Nole told him). The stress affected Marco physically and emotionally; Injuries haunted him. But after overcoming the tremors, he spent the last two years focused on healing and competing. The results are on the table.
It’s worth remembering Trungelliti was the first to jump onto the Zagreb pitch to embrace Federico Delbonis as the azuleño defeated Ivo Karlovic in the fifth game and last point in the final against Croatia in 2016. A lover of the chacarera and the peñas of his province, he has a habit unusual in modern tennis: holding the racket with the original leather grip (without overgrip).
On the track, the curly-haired Argentine with an extensive career (he’s been a professional since 2008) was nicknamed ” “Qualy Man”since he is an expert on thorns Qualities the Grand Slams: He topped 9 of 43 attempts (at the last US Open he was one step away from doing it again, losing in three sets in the third and final round). He will try again at the next Australian Open (he played in the main draw three times in Melbourne): if he doesn’t succeed, he will travel to Egypt to compete in a hard-surface Challenger and then travel to Korea for the Davis Cup.
“I feel like in a way I was already a part of it with Davis, but of course being a sparring partner and serving someone is very different than going there as a player. Now it’s a matter of doing the best job possible to arrive in Korea in the best conditions. I’ve always seen Davis on TV since I was a child. Now it will be a dream to be a part of it from the inside,” said the coffee fan, a true coffee fan workers the circuit. He had to endure shocks, but time made things right. Tennis, the sport that he learned on the clay courts of his hometown of Santiago del Estero and with which he eventually became disappointed, has brought him joy for some time. This is another one and a very big one.
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