Cerundolo reaches the Queen's Club final after a major comeback against Nakashima
Francisco Cerundolo reached the final of the ATP tournament HSBC Championships at London's Queen's Club after defeating Brandon Nakashima 6:7(5), 6:3, 6:4 in the semifinal. According to the official ATP Tour report, the Argentine tennis player, the tournament's seventh seed, advanced to his first final at a level higher than ATP 250 and, in doing so, ended a run of failures in major semifinals. The match was played on 20 June 2026 on grass in London, and the LTA, the organizer of the British grass-court season, states that it lasted two hours and 43 minutes. Cerundolo lost the first set in a tie-break, then came back from a deficit in the second set and finally broke open the third set with a break in the ninth game. The victory took him into the final against Tommy Paul, a former winner of this tournament, giving the London ATP 500 a final meeting between two players who had reached the final during the week by completely different paths.
Comeback after a lost tie-break
The match between Cerundolo and Nakashima had all the elements of a tense grass-court semifinal: short rallies under pressure, changes of rhythm on serve, but also long points in which the Argentine player gradually took control with his forehand. The ATP Tour stated in its report that Cerundolo failed to serve out the first set while leading 6:5, after which Nakashima was steadier in the tie-break and won the opening set 7:5 in the decisive game. That outcome could have completely changed the direction of the duel, because the American tennis player had arrived in London with great confidence after defeating top seed Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinal. According to LTA data, with that triumph Nakashima recorded his third victory against a player from the top ten of the ATP rankings and reached a grass-court semifinal for the second time in his career. Nevertheless, Cerundolo stayed in the match, which proved decisive at the moments when the rhythm on grass began to move to his side.
The second set brought a new problem for the Argentine because Nakashima went ahead with a break at 3:2. Instead of that deficit throwing him off balance, Cerundolo immediately raised his aggression in the exchanges and won four consecutive games, leveling the score at 1:1 in sets. In its analysis of the match, the LTA emphasizes that Cerundolo's forehand was the main weapon during the match, especially in long rallies and points under pressure. The tournament organizer stated that the quality of his forehand in the semifinal reached a rating of 8.7 compared with the tournament average of 7.4, while in exchanges of nine or more shots he won 62 percent of points. Such data explain why Cerundolo, although traditionally not a player first associated with grass courts, managed to find a way to take the initiative against an opponent who moved very well and struck the ball flat.
The third set further emphasized how changeable the match was. The ATP Tour states that breaks were exchanged midway through the deciding set before Cerundolo delivered the key blow in the ninth game. Nakashima came back to 4:4 and thereby prolonged the uncertainty, but the Argentine player remained focused at the most important moment. After the break for 5:4, he successfully served out the victory and converted his first match point. The LTA described in its report that, on break point in the closing stages, Nakashima sent a relatively short ball out of court after poor contact, which opened the space for Cerundolo to conclude the duel. The ATP Tour adds that, after the final point, the winner greeted part of the crowd courtside at the Andy Murray Arena and then shared a sporting embrace with Nakashima.
The biggest final of the Argentine player's career
For Cerundolo, this victory has broader significance than simply reaching the final. The ATP Tour states that the 27-year-old Argentine had lost six consecutive semifinals at a level higher than ATP 250 before this match, so success at Queen's Club marked an important step forward in his career. The LTA described him as a player who would play the biggest final of his career on Sunday, and Cerundolo himself said after the match that he was "super happy" because he remained competitively present and left everything on the court. That statement summarizes the course of the match well: he did not dominate from the first to the last point, but in the decisive periods he showed enough patience, endurance and quality in attack. In the context of the ATP season, reaching the final of an ATP 500 grass-court tournament brings him important points, but also additional confirmation that his tennis can successfully adapt to the fastest traditional surface on the calendar.
Cerundolo already had a relevant grass-court result before Queen's Club. The ATP and the LTA recall that in 2023 he won the title in Eastbourne, which was his first trophy on grass and proof that his game with a powerful forehand can also be effective away from clay courts. In London, he further strengthened that profile, because he reached the final through a series of physically and mentally demanding matches. According to the LTA's final preview, on his way to the title match he defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic in three sets, then Jenson Brooksby in two sets, Arthur Fery again in three sets, and Nakashima in the semifinal after a comeback. Three of his four matches went to a deciding set, showing that in London he constantly had to react to changes in the score and to opponents' surges. Precisely because of that, the semifinal victory against Nakashima appears to be the culmination of a week in which he did not always have the shortest route, but found solutions at the key moments.
The historical aspect of the qualification is also important. According to the ATP Tour, Cerundolo became only the second Argentine tennis player in the Open Era, since 1968, to reach the final of the tournament at Queen's Club. Before him, David Nalbandian achieved it in 2012. The LTA states that Cerundolo has the chance to become the first Argentine winner of this tournament, which gives the final against Paul added weight for Argentine tennis. Queen's Club is traditionally one of the most important warm-up tournaments ahead of Wimbledon, and the 2026 ATP edition is being held from 15 to 21 June. Within that framework, reaching the final is not only an individual result, but also a signal of form in the short but very important part of the season between Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Nakashima stopped after a big week in London
Brandon Nakashima entered the semifinal as one of the most pleasant protagonists of the tournament. The ATP Tour stated that the American player had eliminated Alex de Minaur, the top seed and a player from the top of the world game, in the quarterfinal, thereby achieving his third victory over a member of the top ten. The LTA described that result as the biggest surprise of quarterfinal day, and Nakashima then, according to the same source, converted both break points and reached the second grass-court semifinal of his career. In the semifinal he continued to play with discipline, especially in the first set, when he survived Cerundolo's attempt to close out the set and was then better in the tie-break. His ability to take time away from his opponent early with flat shots caused problems for the Argentine throughout the match. Still, as the match grew longer, Cerundolo's greater solidity in long points and better response in the closing stages of games gradually turned the balance of power.
The defeat for Nakashima does not change the fact that the London week was significant for him in terms of results. The ATP Tour states that he was trying to reach his second final of the season, and additional context was provided by the information that during the week he began working with coach Wayne Ferreira. Such changes in a coaching team are often assessed only after a longer period, but the performance at Queen's Club showed that the American tennis player has a game that can be very effective on grass. In the semifinal he was close for a long time, but he failed to hold the lead in the second set or take advantage of his return to 4:4 in the third. In grass-court matches, precisely such brief dips often decide the outcome because the number of opportunities on return is limited, and one poorly played game can change the entire match. Nakashima received confirmation of his form in London, but Cerundolo had the more precise answer in the closing stages.
The final against Paul brings a clash of different paths
Cerundolo will play in the final against Tommy Paul, who defeated Ugo Humbert 6:3, 6:3 in the other semifinal. According to the ATP Tour, with the victory Paul extended his unbeaten run at Queen's Club to nine matches, after winning the title in 2024 and missing the 2025 edition because of injury. The LTA states that the American tennis player did not lose a set during the week in London and that he defeated Humbert in one hour and 19 minutes. That is a significantly different route to the final from Cerundolo's, as he had to play a deciding set in three of his four matches. According to the LTA, Paul was due to play his fourth ATP final of the season in the 2026 final, and the ATP Tour highlighted that at that moment he was only the third player with at least 30 tour-level wins in the year, behind Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner. That information places the London final in the broader context of Paul's stable season.
The head-to-head record, however, is not one-sided in Paul's favor. In its final preview, the LTA states that Cerundolo and Paul have played seven times so far, with the Argentine leading 5:2. Three of their meetings were played on grass; Paul won the first in Eastbourne in 2022, while Cerundolo won at Queen's Club in 2023 and then again in the Eastbourne final. According to the same source, Paul has not defeated Cerundolo since the Toronto Masters in 2024, while their last duel before London 2026 was won by the Argentine in Miami in 2025 by the score of 6:2, 7:6(4). These data do not determine the outcome of the final, but they show that Cerundolo does not enter that match only as a challenger against a former tournament winner, but also as a player who has positive experience in this rivalry. For Paul, the key will be to continue an exceptionally solid week on serve and in movement, while Cerundolo will seek a way to once again turn his forehand into the main source of pressure.
Queen's Club as an important stop of the grass-court season
The HSBC Championships at Queen's Club is one of the most prestigious tournaments ahead of Wimbledon and is part of the ATP 500 category, which gives it great competitive weight in the short grass-court season. The LTA states that the 2026 edition is being played over two consecutive weeks, with the WTA 500 tournament in the first week and the ATP 500 tournament in the second, while the men's main draw is scheduled from 15 to 21 June. The location in west London, the tournament tradition and the specific conditions on grass make this event an important test of form for players who want to arrive at Wimbledon as ready as possible. On grass, mistakes are punished more quickly, serve and the first shot after the serve have great value, but Cerundolo's path to the final showed that long rallies and patient point construction can be equally important when a player has enough quality to change the rhythm. His victory against Nakashima is therefore not just the result of one comeback, but also confirmation that modern grass-court tennis is no longer reserved exclusively for the most direct styles of play.
For the global tennis audience, the semifinal in London brought the story of a player expanding the limits of his own profile. Cerundolo is often recognizable for his baseline game and powerful forehand, but at Queen's Club he had to combine defense, attack, mental resilience and adaptation to the low bounce. Nakashima, on the other hand, showed that he can threaten seeds and control the rhythm against the strongest opponents at the tournament, but he did not hold up in the closing stages of a match that turned on a few points. The final against Paul, according to the schedule and LTA previews, brings the last test for Cerundolo in the London week and the chance for a first title at ATP 500 level. Regardless of the outcome of the final, the 6:7(5), 6:3, 6:4 victory against Nakashima will remain one of the most important moments of his grass-court performance so far and the result that brought him into the company of rare Argentine finalists at Queen's Club.
Sources:
- ATP Tour – official report on the Cerundolo - Nakashima semifinal and Paul's passage into the final (link)
- ATP Tour – official results of semifinal day at the HSBC Championships 2026 (link)
- LTA – report on Cerundolo reaching the biggest final of his career at Queen's Club (link)
- LTA – results and daily updates from the HSBC Championships 2026 (link)
- LTA – preview of the Francisco Cerundolo - Tommy Paul final with head-to-head record and paths to the final (link)