The Argentine tennis player Francisco Cerúndolo wrote a golden page in the history of tennis in his country by winning the Queen’s ATP 500 tournament in London this Sunday, after beating the American Tommy Paul 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 and 6-3 in an intense final played on grass.
One week before the start of Wimbledon, Cerúndolo confirmed his great moment by lifting the most important title of his career. The Buenos Aires native, ranked 27th in the world ranking before the tournament, needed more than three hours to surpass Paul and win the fifth ATP trophy of his career, in addition to becoming the first Argentine to win the prestigious London competition.
The match was marked by constant changes of pace. Tommy Paul took the first set in the tie-break and seemed on his way to victory when he got a break in the second set. However, Cerúndolo reacted with determination, improved his effectiveness with the serve and began to dominate the exchanges from the back of the court.
The Argentine tied the match by taking the second set 6-4 and maintained the initiative in the decisive set. With aggressive tennis and great mental toughness, he built a 5-2 lead before closing out the match on his sixth championship point.
The victory also had a special flavor because it was a tournament with great tradition on the circuit. No Argentine had managed to conquer Queen’s, not even historical figures like David Nalbandian, who came close to doing so in 2012 before being disqualified in the final against Marin Cilic.
After receiving the trophy, Cerúndolo expressed his excitement for the achievement.
“I can’t believe it. Winning this tournament on grass and getting my first ATP 500 is something incredible. It’s a dream for any player and even more so for someone who comes from Argentina,” declared the champion.
The title comes at the best possible moment for Cerúndolo, who will land at Wimbledon with confidence through the roof and as one of the players to watch in the grass season. In addition, the victory will allow it to get closer to the Top 20 of the ATP ranking and consolidate itself as the main Argentine racket of the moment.
