Cerundolo’s dad conquers fear of flying to watch son win Queen’s

Cerundolo’s dad conquers fear of flying to watch son win Queen’sFigure caption, Cerundolo’s best shots as he beats Paul in Queen’s finalByEmily SalleyBBC Sport journalistPublished21 June 2026, 17:27 BSTUpdated 44 minutes agoFrancisco Cerundolo had to fight through the longest Queen’s final in history to claim the biggest title of his career, but he could hardly have timed it better.His parents arrived from their flight from Argentina in just enough time to see their son triumph – despite his father’s fear of flying.Cerundolo had never won a title above ATP 250 level before and it looked as though his wait would continue when he went a set and a break down against American Tommy Paul.But after an enthralling three hours and two minutes on court, a triumphant Cerundolo threw himself to the floor in celebration after a 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-3 victory.”They took the plane yesterday evening. I knew they were landing in London around 14:30 [BST],” he mentioned. “I knew if the match is short, they wouldn’t arrive to the tournament but if the match was longer, maybe they could.”But Cerundolo did not know for certain if his dad would even make it to London.”My dad has a phobia of planes. Since I was born, I never travelled with him and he never came to watch me in tournaments,” he mentioned.”Last year he started taking therapy and trying to approach his fear.”Last week, he was saying ‘I will go to the grass season’. He always loved London and always loved grass, and he never came.”Me, my brother and my sister were saying ‘OK dad, until you are on the plane we don’t believe you’.”Cerundolo did not see his parents arrive during the match, but he celebrated the victory with them and the trio posed for photos with the iconic trophy afterwards.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Cerundolo and his parents posed for photos together with the Queen’s trophyA fan favourite at Queen’s Club this week, Argentina’s Cerundolo delighted the crowds in London with his fierce forehand winners and never-give-up mentality.The 27-year-old has had a Diego Maradona shirt draped on a chair in his players’ box all week to act as inspiration.Four of his five matches went to a decider as he spent 11 hours 33 minutes on court over the past six days.Cerundolo leaves Queen’s with a second grass-court title under his belt, having previously beat Paul in the Eastbourne final in 2023.Paul, champion at Queen’s in 2024, missed the opportunity to defend his title last year because of an abdominal injury and looked downcast as Cerundolo celebrated victory on Andy Murray Arena.”I want to congratulate Francisco and your team. We always seem to have unreal matches and today you were the better player so I am happy for you. Congrats,” Paul mentioned.Serena Williams to make singles comeback at Wimbledon