ATP Tour

Cerundolo defeats Nakashima in Queen's Club SF rollercoaster, Paul wins again

Francisco Cerundolo advanced to his first tour-level final above ATP 250 level on Saturday at the HSBC Championships in London, where he battled past Brandon Nakashima 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

In a hard-fought battle, Cerundolo failed to serve out the first set at 6-5 and then trailed by a break in the second set, but reeled off four straight games from 2-3 to level the clash. In a topsy-turvy decider, breaks of serve were exchanged at the mid-way point before the Argentine finally struck the decisive blow in the ninth game of the set to move to the brink of victory.

The seventh seed successfully served out and sealed victory on his first match point. The 27-year-old then high-fived a number of fans sat courtside on the Andy Murray Arena at the Queen’s Club before he embraced Nakashima.

“I am super happy to be honest,” said Cerundolo after his two-hour, 43-minute win. “It was a really challenging match, really tough. I feel Brandon was playing incredible and has been playing amazingly the whole week. I am super happy because I stayed there competing and left it all there on the court.”

Cerundolo had lost his past six tour-level semi-finals above ATP 250 level but ensured he would not suffer more heartbreak on the lawns in west London. The 27-year-old will compete for his fifth title and second on grass on Sunday, having won Eastbourne in 2023.

The No. 22 player in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, who also earned three-set wins against Aleksandar Kovacevic and Arthur Fery this week, joins David Nalbandian (2012) as just the second Argentine to reach the final at the Queen’s Club in the Open Era (since 1968). Cerundolo will face eighth seed Tommy Paul in Sunday’s championship match.

Nakashima was trying to reach his second final of the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The American, who began working with coach Wayne Ferreira this week, upset Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals for his third Top 10 win.

Paul extended his winning streak at the Queen’s Club to nine matches by defeating Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-3.

The American lifted the trophy in west London in 2024 and then missed last year’s event due to injury. Paul has been red-hot this week and has yet to drop a set en route to becoming the fifth active player to reach multiple finals at the HSBC Championships.

In an impressive performance against Humbert, Paul outlasted the World No. 33 in the baseline exchanges and was proactive throughout, frequently moving forward to good effect to reach his fourth tour-level final in 2026.

Paul is just the third man to earn 30 tour-level wins this year, joining Alexander Zverev (38) and Jannik Sinner (37). The 29-year-old is seeking his second trophy of the season after winning in Houston.