Francisco Cerúndolo has captured the biggest title of his career at the Queen’s Club Championships.
In what was the longest Queen’s Club final in history, Cerundolo defeated 2024 champion Tommy Paul 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Andy Murray Arena.
Following his triumph in West London, Cerundolo has now won five ATP Tour titles.
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Cerundolo cut an emotional figure during his post-match speech, thanking the Argentinian fans in the crowd and his family.
Francisco Cerúndolo loves that Tommy Paul has Argentinian members in his coaching team
“It’s not easy to speak right now, but I want to start with Tommy,” Cerundolo began. We have a great relationship out of the court, as you said, many great battles.
“Just congratulations for this tournament for everything you’ve been doing. You, your team.
“I love you because you have some Argentinians on your team, so it’s always special to share time with you on and off the court, so congratulations.
The Argentine went on to thank all those involved with the running of Queen’s Club, before turning to his coaching box.
“Then I want to thank my team,” he said. “Here I have Nico [Nicolas Massu] and ‘Mono.’
“Nico is the first week, and don’t get used to this because it’s not, I mean, this is the first one that I won, so it’s a good start,” Cerundolo joked.
“So just, thank you, Nico, thank you Mono, thanks everyone that is back home because they have a big team that they’re not here but they put the work every day from where they are. So just thank you very much.”
Francisco Cerundolo’s route to the Queen’s title
- Round One: defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-7, 6-2
- Round Two: defeated Jenson Brooksby 6-0, 6-4
- Quarter-finals: defeated Arthur Fery 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
- Semi-finals: defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
- Final: defeated Tommy Paul 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
“I want to thank my family. That is my mum. They just arrived for the last two games. My dad – it’s the first moment that I see them because they arrived the last two games from Argentina.
“I mean, it’s the first time my dad takes a flight and the first time he come watch me outside of Argentina.
“Congratulate my dad to take a plane and come here. It’s the father’s day in Argentina, so this is for you.
Cerundolo then turned to the raucous crowd, comparing the atmosphere to those in Argentina.
“All my friends, all the Argentinian people here, all the crowd, thank you very much. I felt really incredible during this week,” he added.
“You make me feel like home. I mean, it’s unbelievable. Packed stadium every day – you come cheer a lot. You are a fan of tennis, you enjoy soI hope you you have a great week as much as I do.
“Thank you very much and I can’t wait to be back. So thank you very much.”
Paul, meanwhile, was gracious in defeat.
I want to congratulate Fran and your team,” the American said during his own speech. “We have a ton of respect for you guys.
“We always seem to have unrealmatches. Um, today you were the better player, so I’m happy for you and congrats man.”
John Lloyd left astounded by the Queen’s crowd
“What a battle that was,” Lloyd said while commentating to the BBC.
“I haven’t seen a crowd like this at Queens that are this into a match for a long time, it was an unbelievable atmosphere about it today.
“And the tennis was just, well, world class.”
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Cerundolo is now set to travel a short distance south to the Eastbourne Open.
The Argentine is set to be seeded for the ATP 250 event, which begins on Monday.
Paul, meanwhile, is not expected to compete in either of the final warm-up events ahead of Wimbledon [Eastbourne and the Mallorca Open].
