Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo won the longest final in Queen’s history as he defeated 2024 champion Tommy Paul to win the biggest title of his career.
The seventh seed is the first Argentinian to win the ATP 500 tournament, one of the most prestigious warm-up events before Wimbledon, and celebrated with his parents, who flew in just in time to watch their son’s success.
Four of the 27-year-old’s five matches in west London this week went to a decider and it was only fitting that the final would too, as he fought back from a set down for the third successive match to win 6-7 (4) 6-4 6-3, after Paul saved four championship points.
At three hours and four minutes, in sweltering heat, an enthralling final was seven minutes lengthier than the previous longest, Marin Cilic’s 2018 win over Novak Djokovic.
Afterwards Cerundolo paid tribute to his father Alejandro, who flew out from Argentina – despite a fear of flying – with his mother to support him.
“It’s not easy to speak right now. My mum and dad just arrived for the last two games,” an emotional Cerundolo said. “It’s the first time my dad took a flight and watched me outside Argentina. Congratulations for Father’s Day!”
He later told the BBC: “My dad has a phobia of planes. Since I was born, I never travelled with him and he never came to watch me in tournaments.
“He watched me in Buenos Aires one time a year and at the Davis Cup. They just arrived and I just saw them when I went to celebrate.”
Cerundolo’s inspiration for his first ATP 500 title was a Diego Maradona Argentina shirt draped over a chair in the player’s box throughout the tournament. It was rather prescient, coming one day before the 40th anniversary of Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal against England at the Mexico World Cup.
Yet it was the forehand of Cerundolo which dominated the early stages of this match, consistently unsettling Paul on the Andy Murray Arena.
The Buenos Aires native served for the opening set but lost all four points as Paul suddenly came to the party, forcing a tie-break which the seventh seed gift-wrapped to him with a double fault.
Paul broke again for 3-2 in the second, but his serve quickly deserted him as Cerundolo broke back twice to level the match.
It was the first set Paul had dropped all week, and the 29-year-old was flagging down the home straight as Cerundolo grabbed the decisive break for 4-2.
Paul saved four championship points, three on his own serve, but Cerundolo converted his fifth with an overhead before dropping to the turf in celebration.
For Paul it was a first defeat in 10 matches here, having won the title in 2024 before being unable to defend it last year through injury. In fact the last time he lost a match in West Kensington was in 2023, against Cerundolo, who also beat him to the Eastbourne trophy on the grass in 2023.
“Congrats to Fran, I have a ton of respect for you,” said the American, who covered his head with a towel in disappointment after the match.
“We always seem to have unreal matches and today you were the better player so I am happy for you. And thanks to the crowd for the support all week long, it’s a blast playing in front of you guys.”
