Francisco Cerundolo has become the first Argentine to win the HSBC Championships at Queen’s after outlasting former champion Tommy Paul in a three-hour marathon.
The seventh seed recovered from a set and a break down to beat Paul 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3. It is the first time that Cerundolo has won an ATP event above the 250 level. It is his second Tour-level title of any kind on grass after Eastbourne three years ago. He has now recorded six wins over Paul during his career, which is more than any other player the 27-year-old has played.
“It’s not easy to speak right now, but I want to start with Tommy. We have a great relationship off the court, many great battles,” Cerundolo said during the trophy presentation.
“I love you because you have some Argentinians on your team, so it’s always special to share time with you all off the court,” he added.
Throughout the roller-coaster battle, Cerundolo refused to give in against the American, who had won nine consecutive matches at Queen’s going into the final. Paul won the title in 2024 but couldn’t play last year due to an abdominal injury. The turning point in the match came at 5-4 in the second set, when Paul was 30-0 up on his serve before losing four points in a row, forcing the match into a decider.
In the third set, Cerundolo broke in the sixth game and then saw a trio of championship points come and go after surging to a 5-2 lead. Eventually, he triumphed on his fifth match point by hitting a smash winner.
“I want to thank my team. Here (at Queen’s) I have Nico (Nicolas Massu). It’s the first one (with him) that I won, so it’s good,” the new champion commented.
“Thanks, everyone who is back home. They put in the work every day from where they are.”
Cerundolo’s triumph in London is a rare occurrence for Argentinian tennis. Until now, the last time a male player from the country won a grass title at the Tour level was in 1995 when Javier Frana won Nottingham. Furthermore, he joins Andy Roddick and Feliciano Lopez in being the only players to have won both Eastbourne and Queen’s.
The occasion is made even more special by it being the first tournament Cerundolo has played that his father has attended outside of his home country.
“They (both of Cerundolo’s parents) just arrived for the last two games. My dad, it’s the first moment that I see them because they arrived in the last two games from Argentina,” he said.
“It’s the first time my dad took a flight and the first time he can watch me outside from Argentina.
“It’s Father’s Day in Argentina, so this is for him.”
In the rankings, Cerundolo will rise to 21 on Monday but will miss out on a return to the top 20 due to events that took place in Halle on the same day.
Tiafoe ends title drought in Halle
Frances Tiafoe is the player who has denied Cerundolo a place in the top 20 after he capped off a dream week at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle to end his three-year title drought.
The big-serving American produced a 6-4, 6-4 win over compatriot Taylor Fritz, who is the third top 10 player he has beaten in the tournament. His two other wins were over French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli and second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. Until this week, he had never beaten a top 10 player multiple times at the same event.
“I lost a lot of finals in my career; this is big,” Tiafoe told ATP TV whilst quoting the biblical scripture (Romans 8:18) after his win.
“A few weeks ago, I had one of the hardest losses of my career at the French Open, and to be able to come back, have a good week and win here – my biggest title, and against the players I beat along the way…
“It’s a huge testament to that goal, and something I’ve been living by – staying in my faith.”
Tiafoe will rise to 19th in the rankings and currently has four ATP titles to his name. His three other triumphs were at 250 events in Delray Beach (2018), Houston (2023) and Stuttgart (2023).
“We’ve been pushing since the end of last year,” the American said in tribute to his team. “And we’ve only been going to the moon, as we say. Let’s keep going. Let’s enjoy this one, then get ready for SW19 in a week.”
