Cerundolo overcomes Paul in Queen's final to clinch biggest title of career

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cerundolo-francisco/lWQ3G6gB/"]Cerundolo[/a] squandered ‌three match points as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/paul-tommy/pd3ye1BS/"]Paul[/a] served at 2-5 in the decider, one ‌with a net cord, but finished the job in ‌the next game on his serve to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/cerundolo-f-lWQ3G6gB/paul-t-pd3ye1BS/?mid=8S148chn"]win his first ATP ‌500 title[/a].[/p][p]He collapsed to the court in relief after ‌pummelling away a smash to end the longest final in the grasscourt tournament's history at three hours and two minutes.[/p][p]Cerundolo is the first ‌player from Argentina to win the prestigious ⁠pre-Wimbledon tournament, and he did ‌it the hard way, winning four of his five matches in ​a deciding set and spending around 12 hours in total on court.[/p][embed guid="f3af3816-83a7-4377-8a17-3e403522d29e" url="https://x.com/atptour/status/2068725611812520038" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"Coming from Argentina and winning my ​first ATP 500 at such an historical event, I could never imagine it,"[/b] Cerundolo, whose parents arrived during the final ⁠to watch him, told ​the BBC.[/p][p][b]"I'm super happy and super proud of myself."[/b][/p][p]Cerundolo also beat Paul in the final to win his previous grasscourt title at Eastbourne in 2023.[/p][p]It was an extra special moment for ‌Cerundolo as his father, Alejandro, who has never seen him play overseas because of a fear of flying, was in the crowd.[/p][p]"[b]He only watched me in Buenos Aires and in Davis Cup. I think they just arrived when I was 5-3 up in the third," [/b]he said.[/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="3e9ba9e2-26bf-4b69-bece-68f7a8a80186" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="1ce44f59-2192-476f-b4cb-50a2fcf87dd8" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Paul, the Queen's champion in 2024, looked to have got the upper hand in a high-quality duel full of fierce baseline rallies as ‌he won the opening set tiebreak, having broken Cerundolo's serve ​to love when the Argentine served for the set.[/p][p]The ‌29-year-old American was a break ahead in the second set, but his level dipped and Cerundolo took full advantage to send a gripping final into a decider.[/p][p]Cerundolo looked the fresher player as he moved ahead in the ⁠third, and despite a few ⁠nerves, he held firm ‌to win his second career grasscourt title.[/p][embed guid="c620325d-d9a1-42ce-8a11-99598d430908" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZYZQvA8vV0" social-type="youtube" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/atp-singles/london/"]Catch up on the results at Queen's here.[/a][/b][/p]