Cerundolo battles past Nakashima to reach the biggest final of his career
Broken and breaking back all afternoon, Francisco Cerundolo (No 7) edged Brandon Nakashima 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the biggest final of his career at Queen’s, where Tommy Paul, the 2024 champion, awaits.
Francisco Cerundolo, Queen’s 2026 | © Imago / PsNewz
Argentinian seventh seed Francisco Cerundolo came through a high-wire contest of constant breaks on Saturday afternoon, edging American Brandon Nakashima 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final of the HSBC Championships, the biggest of his career so far.
Neither man could hold serve with any certainty in a match that lasted two hours and 43 minutes. Cerundolo served for the first set but was broken back immediately, the pattern of the afternoon, and the tie-break went Nakashima’s way.
The Argentinian responded by breaking twice in both the second and third sets, and this time made the advantage stand, holding on at the death to complete the win after nearly three hours of swings.
“It was a really tough match, to be honest,” Cerundolo said in his on-court interview. “I served for the first set, he broke me immediately, then I broke and he broke back. The third set was the same – I broke at the beginning and he broke me, and luckily at the end when I broke I could hold myself.”
Paul next
He credited the crowd and his camp, including new coach Nicolás Massú, for carrying him over the line. “I was telling them, I’m going to leave it all out here, and let’s see what happens. It worked out, so I’m super happy.”
Cerundolo had reached the semi-finals with wins over Englishman Arthur Fery (7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4), American Jenson Brooksby (6-0, 6-4) and American Aleksandar Kovacevic (6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2).
Nakashima, ranked No 32, had been the man to end top seed Alex de Minaur’s tournament in the previous round (7-5, 6-3), having earlier beaten Peruvian Ignacio Buse (6-2, 6-2) and Hungarian Marton Fucsovics (6-3, 6-3).
Cerundolo, ranked No 27, will face American Tommy Paul, the No 8 seed, who won against Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-3. Paul was the champion in 2024.
