Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo claimed the biggest title of his career on Sunday, beating American Tommy Paul 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3 to win the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club and become the first Argentine man ever to lift the famous grass-court trophy.
The win is a notable one for Latin American tennis fans across Costa Rica and the wider region, where the Cerundolo name has become one to watch. The seventh seed had to grind through the longest final in the tournament’s history — just over three hours — and fought back from a set and a break down to get it done.
Paul, who won the event in 2024 and arrived on a nine-match winning streak at Queen’s, took the opening set in a 66-minute tie-break and looked in control early in the second. But Cerundolo steadied himself, broke back at a key moment, and forced a deciding set. From there it became a battle of nerves. Paul saved three match points while serving at 2-5 in the third, including one off a net cord, before Cerundolo finally closed it out on his fifth match point with one of the big forehands that defined his week.
“I can’t believe it. I fought really hard during the whole week, every match was a war and I think I got the reward,” Cerundolo said after the match, dropping to the ground in celebration. “Winning this title for me is unbelievable. Coming from Argentina and winning Queen’s, such a historic event on grass. I never imagined I’d lift this trophy.”
It was Cerundolo’s fifth career title and his second of 2026, after a win on home soil in Buenos Aires earlier in the year. It was also his first trophy above the ATP 250 level — the sport’s entry-level tour events — making the Queen’s crown comfortably the standout result of his career. He had won on grass once before, in Eastbourne in 2023.
The week was a slog. Four of his five matches went to a deciding set, and he spent more than 11 hours on court over six days, including comeback wins over Aleksandar Kovacevic, Arthur Fery and Brandon Nakashima before the final.
Cerundolo used his moment to talk up Argentine tennis as a whole. “Argentina is a fantastic country. We don’t have the resources of other countries and we still compete at a high level and have many players,” he said. “I am super proud of my country and representing it.”
There was a family payoff, too. Cerundolo’s parents flew in from Argentina to watch — no small thing given his father’s fear of flying — and arrived just in time to catch the finish before posing with their son and the trophy.
The result moved Cerundolo up to around No. 21 in the live rankings and stretched his edge over Paul to six wins in their eight career meetings. The timing could hardly be better: Wimbledon begins Monday, June 29, and Cerundolo will arrive among the seeded players, riding a wave of grass-court form and confidence.
