F. CERUNDOLO/T. Paul
6-7, 6-4, 6-3
THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the press conference of our 2026 HSBC Championships men's singles champion, Francisco Cerundolo.
First of all, congrats, Fran. This is your biggest career title, and it's here at Queen's Club. How does it feel now to have all your family here to support you?
FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Well, it feels incredible, you know. Winning my first ATP 500 here in Queen's, such a historical event. I mean, so many great champions, legends, it's something amazing. I would never imagine lifting this trophy my whole life, but here I am, the winner of the week.
I have my team. My parents arrived today just in time for the last game. So it's those moments that I remember forever. Yeah, it's such a dream come true to win this tournament.
THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.
Q. Congratulations. You told Nico not to get used to this every week. What are your key takeaways from your first tournament together?
FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Well, I mean, it's a dream week, you know. We started last week training in Buenos Aires for three days. We came here and we ended up lifting this trophy. I was just joking with him. Hopefully we have many more weeks like that, and we get a little bit more used to.
No, nothing. I'm super happy, grateful with the decision, with him committing with me, and giving me the chance to work together and traveling here.
So, yeah, just thankful and grateful towards him and to my whole team. Here I have my physio, and back home I have everyone else. I mean, they put the work in day after day, incredible, so I'm really thankful.
Q. Congratulations on your win today. I feel like the Cerundolo brothers are having a moment on the ATP Tour. Your brother defeated Jannik Sinner at the French Open, had a great run. You have now just won the title at Queen's. What's your relationship like with your brother? Is there a bit of a competitive edge? Are you very supportive of each other? Have you already received a message from him? What's the dynamic like between both of you on the tour?
FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: No, we have a great relationship. We support each other a lot. We don't have competitiveness or jealous. It's just a love relationship. I wish him always the best, and he does the same.
I'm super happy what he's been doing this past month. I mean, he's playing way better, he's improving a lot. He's so passionate of the game and a hard worker.
Beating Jannik and reaching the fourth round of the French Open, and now breaking into the top 50, I mean, I cannot be prouder of him. Just the two of us having great results, sharing the top 50 now at the same time is fantastic, so hopefully we can have many great moments together.
Q. Congratulations. It was obviously a long match out there. What are you kind of saying to yourself when those games are going on? How do you kind of keep that pep going?
FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Yeah, it was another battle, you know. I'm super tired right now, but yeah, it was tough, because after losing the first set, one hour and something, serving for the set, yesterday and the day before I played almost three hours every match, so mentally I was a little bit down.
But I said to myself, we fought the whole week, we compete the whole week, now is the last day, we have to give it all, give it my chance to compete until the last point, and that's what I did. I was a break down in the second. 4-All I served 15-40, you know, almost there, but I just believed myself, still fighting. I think I got the reward.
I have this trophy next to me, so I'm super happy for the great and the way I compete during the whole week.
Q. How did the association with Nico happen? Because it's not long ago that he was with, who was it, Hubi?
FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Hurkacz.
Q. Yeah. And also, just relate the story about your parents being on a plane for the first time out of Argentina and all that.
FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Well, when I finish with my other coach -- I had two coaches before -- and I was with Pablo Cuevas, he's still in the team, I don't know, French Open, whatever, and we were thinking who to join, and he brought to the table Nico Massu.
I didn't even think about him, you know, and he brought it up. I said, Okay, yes, let's try. Let's give him a call, a video call, just talk to him. I didn't know him, just hi and bye-bye in the tournament.
Yeah, I think we had a good feeling, good connection. We talk about tennis a little bit, and we have a similarities there. So we say, Okay, let's give it a try. When I came back from French Open, if you can, you just come to Argentina to practice on this, and we try here on the grass season and that's how we started.
What was the other question? Sorry.
Q. About your parents and the flights.
FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: No, my mom, she usually travels. She travels a lot. She tries, when me and my brother are in the same tournament, she tries to come so she can see us at the same moment, because if not, we're away from home a lot.
My dad used to travel before. When I was born, he stopped traveling, because he hated planes and he couldn't handle it.
Last year he started taking therapy and trying to, I don't know, approach his fear. Yeah, during last week, he was saying, I will go to the grass season. He always loved London and always love grass, and he never came.
Me and my brother and my sister were saying, Okay, Dad, until you are in the plane, we don't trust you, we don't believe you (smiling).
They took the plane yesterday evening. I knew they were landing in London around 2:30. So, I mean, I knew if the match is short, they wouldn't arrive to the tournament, but if the match was longer, maybe they could arrive.
I just saw them when I went to celebrate with my team in the corner. During the match, I didn't see them that they made it. So I just gonna ask them when they arrive, last game or two games or when, because I didn't notice them.
Q. There were a lot of momentum swings in that match back and forth. What did you struggle with the most in Tommy's game today? How did you adapt to it specifically?
FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Well, with Tommy, we know each other a lot. We play many, many times. In grass four times, it's incredible to play four times a guy in the grass season.
We know each other a lot. It's like a chess game, because I know how he play. He knows how I play. It's kind of who can control the points and dictate the points more.
I think he's a guy he can find the rhythms a lot, reads the game really well, so good to move. It's like that. I was trying to play my game, and he was trying not to let me play my game. So it was kind of like that.
I think it was a battle. Three hours there, competing, really close games, all of them, advantage for him, for me. It was super tight, you know. It was in terms of details.
As I told you, he's a really complete player, and I have a lot of respect towards him.
Q. Just talking about the grass court season, there is no Masters 1000 event on grass. It's been a big conversation this week. Are you surprised there isn't a Masters 1000 event on grass, and would you like to see one on grass?
FRANCISCO CERUNDOLO: Well, yeah. I don't know, to be honest. I mean, I'm not the one who runs the calendar, but, I mean, I know the schedule is super tight. There is not a lot of place for new tournaments or to make some improvement.
For sure it would be fun to have a Masters 1000 on grass, but I don't know when, you know, if next week or the week before or this week, turn it into a 1000, but, I mean, yeah, it's tough, because it was always like this, and suddenly to change something historical is not easy.
But, yeah, to be honest, I have no idea what are they going to do, you know.
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