Francisco Cerúndolo’s grass-court rise has taken another meaningful step, and this one comes with a clear Latin American edge. The Argentine seventh seed reached the semifinals of the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club on Friday, defeating British wild card Arthur Fery 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4 in a tight quarterfinal on the Andy Murray Arena. The win moved Cerúndolo into his second career grass-court semifinal and made him only the second Argentine man to reach the final four at Queen’s, following David Nalbandian.
For a player raised on clay, the result is more than another strong week before Wimbledon. It is another sign that Cerúndolo’s game now travels across surfaces, including the one that historically has offered Latin American players the least margin for comfort.
Fery, backed by the home crowd and playing the best tournament of his young career, made Cerúndolo earn everything. The British wild card pushed the first set to a tiebreak, took the second, and then grabbed early momentum in the third. Cerúndolo, however, refused to let the match drift away. He recovered from a break down in the final set and steadied himself late to close out one of the biggest grass-court wins of his season.
There was also a frightening moment when Fery struck a backhand that caught Cerúndolo near the throat, sending the Argentine to the grass. Cerúndolo recovered and played on, turning what could have become a disruptive moment into another test of composure.
Afterward, Cerúndolo framed the match exactly as it looked: difficult, tense, and full of adjustments. Fery was comfortable on the surface, moving well and feeding off the London crowd. Cerúndolo had to solve the match rather than overpower it.
That is what makes the result important. Cerúndolo is not simply surviving on grass anymore. He is learning how to use his heavy forehand, improved court positioning, and willingness to compete in awkward points on a surface that does not naturally reward players from his tennis background.
“Being from Argentina, I had never played on grass until I turned pro,” Cerúndolo said after the match. “Every year is a new challenge.”
That challenge has started to become a real opportunity. Cerúndolo already owns a grass-court title from Eastbourne in 2023, and his run at Queen’s gives Argentina and Latin American tennis another visible story heading into Wimbledon. With many of the region’s top players traditionally judged by clay results, Cerúndolo is building a different kind of résumé.
His route to the semifinals also shows the range of his week. He opened with a three-set win over Aleksandar Kovacevic, then produced a sharp 6-0, 6-4 win over Jenson Brooksby before holding off Fery in the quarterfinals. Three wins, three different match types, and now a chance to reach one of the biggest finals of his career.
Next comes Brandon Nakashima, who removed top seed Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-3 earlier Friday. Nakashima has not dropped a set this week and arrives with confidence after beating one of the best grass-court movers in the draw. Cerúndolo will need another clean, physical performance, especially on return, where Nakashima’s first-strike tennis can quickly tilt service games.
For Latin American tennis, though, Cerúndolo’s week is already significant. Queen’s Club is not a routine stop for Argentine breakthrough stories. It is one of the sport’s classic grass venues, a tournament long used as a measuring stick before Wimbledon. Cerúndolo is now in the final four there, not as a novelty, but as a legitimate contender.
That is the larger message from London. Cerúndolo has become more than an Argentine clay threat. He is turning himself into a player who can matter on grass, too.
