Francisco Cerundolo had never won an ATP 500 event or higher while making his run to the final at the HSBC Championships against Tommy Paul. The Argentinian was seemingly more of a clay-court specialist, even though he had won one grass-court title in his career. That was at Eastbourne in 2023.
Paul was the more accomplished player and the better player over his career on grass. Statistically, his best won-loss record has come on the same surface that Wimbledon is played on. This should have meant that the American had the advantage in London, but not so fast.
The first set was tight, and Paul came through in the tie-break 7-4. One likely had the feeling even then that the match was eventually going to lead to a third set. Cerundolo was playing too well to go away quietly.
Francisco Cerundolo survives Tommy Paul to win the 2026 HSBC Championships
In the second set, he would get the break he needed and take the set 6-4. While he should have had the momentum, the match was overall so even that few could have predicted the outcome. The first game of the final set was telling, though. The Argentinian battled to hold, but finally did after facing one break point and pushing past three deuce points.
Paul serving at 3-2 was broken, and while the American attempted to get the break back in the extremely long game that followed, Cerundolo eventually held to get to 5-2. The pressure on the Argentinian was likely growing due to being so close to winning the biggest event of his career, but returning serve was likely easier than trying to serve out the match.
Another tense attempt to hold followed, with Cerundolo having several break chances, but Paul won to get to 3-5. The Argentinian had several match points and would have more in his next service game.
He was pushed by Paul, but Cerundolo came through in the end, finishing the match and tournament with an overhead smash. He was the first Argentine to ever win the HSBC Championships.
With the victory, Francisco Cerundolo will move up to No. 21 once the ATP rankings are released. His career high is 18, and with a good run at Wimbledon (Cerundolo has never made it past the second round at the grass-court major), he could easily surpass his previous career high. After winning the HSBC Championships, Cerundolo's confidence has to be growing for runs at grass-court events.
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