“He hadn’t travelled by plane for 30 years": Father’s Day miracle as Cerúndolo wins Queen’s with dad watching live

Francisco Cerúndolo lifted the most important title of his career this Sunday after defeating Tommy Paul in the final of the Queen’s Club Championships. The Argentine had a very special celebration on Father’s Day, with his father present in the stands after overcoming his fears to board a plane for the first time in 30 years.

It was Cerúndolo’s fifth career title and his first at ATP 500 level. It was doubly special for the South American, who dedicated the trophy to his father after he arrived at Queen’s on a last-minute flight and witnessed the final in person, during which the 27-year-old came back from a set down against Paul.

“Those are moments when you say: what happened, why do things happen and how the planets align…,” Cerúndolo said after the match. “My dad had been saying for about a year that he was trying to overcome his fears to be able to travel to a tournament with us… but we kept telling him, until you get on a plane, we won’t believe it.”

“He hadn’t travelled by plane for 30 years,” Cerúndolo added. “We used to go on holiday always by car, to the Argentine coast, to ski in San Martín de los Andes, to Uruguay… When we started competing and a family member could come, it was my mum, my sister, my cousins or uncles.”

It was a special week for Cerúndolo, who, long regarded as a clay-court specialist, showed that he can also adapt to grass. He defeated players such as Jenson Brooksby and Brandon Nakashima on his way to the final before overcoming Tommy Paul from a set down.

Cerúndolo was emotional during the trophy ceremony, where his family was present — Alejandro Cerúndolo and María Luz Rodríguez, both former tennis players — who travelled from Argentina to support him in person.

“I want to thank my family, my mum, they just arrived for the last two games. My dad, it’s the first moment that I see them because they arrived in the last two games from Argentina,” he said.

“It’s the first time my dad takes a flight and the first time he can watch me outside Argentina, so I want to congratulate my dad for taking a plane and coming here,” he added. “It’s Father’s Day in Argentina, so this is for you.”

Cerúndolo will move up six positions to No. 21 in the rankings, while placing himself at No. 12 in the ATP Race. For the Argentine, who is practically not defending points in the coming weeks, there is a clear opportunity to climb further, especially at Wimbledon, where he will arrive full of confidence and momentum.

The Argentine triumphed for the second time on grass courts following the recent addition of a new member to his team.

That member is Nicolás Massú, former coach of Dominic Thiem — who guided him to the 2020 US Open title — and who had recently worked with Hubert Hurkacz. The former Olympic gold medallist was behind a standout week for Cerúndolo, who will arrive at Wimbledon with confidence at its peak after one of the best weeks of his career.

“I want to thank my team. Here I have Nico, Mono… Nico, first week. Don’t get used to this because it’s the first one that I won, so it’s a good start. So thank you Nico, thank you Mono, thanks everyone back home because I have a big team that are not here, but they put the work every day from where they are, so thank you very much.”

Cerúndolo came through a difficult period in recent weeks, especially after going through the European clay swing without major results. Eliminated in the third round of Roland Garros by Zachary Svajda, the South American No. 1 told ESPN Tennis that he had been lacking confidence in recent weeks.

“In Roland Garros I had a very bad time, I wasn’t well, I was fighting with tennis, with life… It’s part of professional sport, it happens to many people, but people don’t understand it and think you are a machine.”

“In our profession you have one bad day and the whole world finds out, you are exposed. I went back to Buenos Aires and took a week off, I needed to step away and recover some motivation.

I had no expectations on grass. I lost all my practice sets, although day by day I was playing a bit better. I ended up playing spectacularly, flowing as if it were my natural surface.”