Francisco Cerundolo secured the longest final in the history of the Queen’s Club Championships on Sunday, defeating 2024 champion Tommy Paul in a grueling three-hour and four-minute match. The seventh-seeded Argentinian came from a set down to win 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3 in sweltering conditions, marking the biggest title of his career and making him the first Argentinian to capture the ATP 500 event.

The closely contested match saw Paul, the defending champion and winner of the tournament in 2024, save four championship points before ultimately succumbing to Cerundolo’s resilience. This victory marked a remarkable third consecutive match in the tournament where Cerundolo recovered after losing the opening set.

At 184 minutes, the final eclipsed the previous record set in 2018, when Marin Cilic defeated Novak Djokovic in a 2-hour and 57-minute encounter. Cerundolo’s emotional post-match remarks highlighted the significance of the moment for his family, particularly his parents, who traveled to London to watch him play for the first time outside Argentina despite his father’s longstanding fear of flying. “My mum and dad just arrived for the last two games. It’s the first time my dad took a flight and watched me outside Argentina,” Cerundolo said. He also shared with the BBC the personal milestone this represented, recalling that his father had previously only seen him play in Buenos Aires and at the Davis Cup.

Paul, who was aiming to defend his Queen’s Club title after missing the tournament last year due to injury, suffered his first defeat at the venue in 10 matches. His last loss at the West Kensington grass-court event came in 2023, where he was also bested by Cerundolo, who went on to claim the Eastbourne trophy on grass that same year.

The final reaffirmed Cerundolo’s emergence as a formidable competitor on grass courts, with his tenacity and endurance enabling him to overcome the tournament’s top contenders under challenging conditions. Meanwhile, Paul’s defeat underscored the ongoing rivalry between the two players on the grass-court season.