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Some players were making their grass-court debuts this week.
But at the end of the day, it was dirtballer Francisco Cerundolo and hard-courter Frances Tiafoe who were left holding the trophies.
For both, it was the biggest title of their career.
Tiafoe’s three previous titles were at the 250 level, and he was 0-4 above that level. Tiafoe beat three top-10 players in Halle: Taylor Fritz in the final, and Flavio Cobolli and Félix Auger-Aliassime en route.
Against the Canadian, he saved three match points.
Taylor Fritz (USA): No. 9 =========> No. 7 (Fritz dialed it down a bit this spring, with the body barking. And he not only beats Alexander Zverev but makes the final in Halle, great prep for a wide-open Wimbledon).
Casper Ruud (NOR): No. 14 =========> No. 12 (Win-win for Ruud, who only likes grass when he’s teeing off at his favorite links. He didn’t play, moved up two – and got married in Mallorca to longtime love Maria, the mother of his daughter).
Frances Tiafoe (USA): No. 26 =========> No. 19 (There were a lot of Americans in contention this weekend at the various grass-court events. But only Tiafoe came out with the big trophy, as he defeated Fritz to give himself a huge confidence boost going into Wimbledon. He’s back in the top 20).
Francisco Cerundolo (ARG): No. 27 =========> No. 21 (Quite the Father’s Day present Cerundolo gave his father, who travelled for the first time outside of Argentina and watched him win a big title at Queen’s Club. It’s his fifth title, by far his biggest. And, interestingly, it’s his second on grass).
Tommy Paul (USA): No. 28 =========> No. 24 (Paul, 29, has had a quiet year. But the former Queen’s Club champ makes the final, losing to Cerundolo).
Raphael Collignon (BEL): No. 51 =========> No. 43 (Top-50 debut for the 24-year-old Belgian, who made the quarters in Halle).
Daniel Altmaier (GER): No. 81 =========> No. 59 (Altmaier, who came close to upsetting Félix Auger-Aliassime at Roland Garros, continues his good play and makes the semifinal in Halle. He also, as an alternate, he made the final with Joao Fonseca in doubles. A good week).
Luca Van Assche (FRA): No. 100 =========> No. 82 (Van Assche won the clay-court Challenger in Parma, over Sebastian Ofner in the final).
Rinky Hijikata (AUS): No. 104 =========> No. 83 (A nice leap for the Aussie after making the quarterfinals at Queen’s Club).
Hubert Hurkacz (POL): No. 103 =========> No. 95 (Hurkacz is back in the top 100 after dropping out for a week. He lost to Altmaier in the second round in Halle. But if he’s hot, he’s a player no one will want to see at Wimbledon early on).
Christopher O’Connell (AUS): No. 154 =========> No. 123 (O’Connell wins the grass-court Challenger in Nottingham).
Gustavo Heide (BRA): No. 187 =========> No. 138 (Heide, a 24-year-old from Brazil, wins the Challenger in Poznan and moves to a new career best)
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Raphael Collignon (BEL) (No. 43)
Kamil Majchrzak (POL) (No. 46)
Sho Shimabukuro (JPN) (No. 89)
Martin Damm (USA) (No. 105)
Arthur Fery (GBR) (No. 118)
Gustavo Heide (BRA) (No. 138)
Stefanos Sakellaridis (GRE) (No. 146)
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Daniil Medvedev (RUS): No. 7 =========> No. 9 (Medvedev was shocked by Daniel Altmaier in the quarters of Halle, after making the final a year ago).
Arthur Fils (FRA): No. 21 =========> No. 23 (Fils has been a ghost for awhile, even missing his home Slam at Roland Garros. But he’s back for the grass. Let’s see what his health is like and what he can do).
Tomas Machac (CZE): No. 42 =========> No. 47 (The news continues to be bad for Machac, who drops his points from a Halle quarterfinal a year ago. And has pulled out of Wimbledon with the foot injury that’s been nagging him for months. And yet, his season started SO well, with a title in Adelaide).
Marin Cilic (CRO): No. 46 =========> No. 60 (Cilic won a challenger in Nottingham a year ago, but lost to Ugo Humbert in the first round at Queen’s).
Holger Rune (DEN): No. 63 =========> No. 79 (Rune is on the court, but still no definitive date for his return after he tore his Achilles in Stockholm last October).
Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE): No. 80 =========> No. 88 (Hard to know what’s up with Tsitsipas, who was showing off his photography at an exhibition last week instead of playing a grass-court event. He also had to hear some rather public jibes from ex-girlfriend Paula Badosa about his breakup. We’ll see what he has in Mallorca this week; he faces Ignacio Buse in the first round).
Gabriel Diallo (CAN): No. 84 =========> No. 91 (Diallo, this time last year, was ranked No. 41. He’s had a precipitous drop because of some injuries, a mishap with a glass jar, heatstroke in Paris and an overall drop in confidence. He’s 6-15 on the season and has won just one match since Miami).
Jack Draper (GBR): No. 113 =========> No. 160 (Draper has played just nine matches this year. And he has just five wins. Three of them game at Indian Wells – against Bautista Agut, Francisco Cerundolo and Djokovic. A year ago, he made thh semis at Queen’s and moved to No. 4 in the world. But he hasn’t played since retiring in the first round against Tomas Etcheverry in Barcelona more than two months ago. Draper, who began the season ranked No. 13, has an ace in his corner as he returns in Eastbourne this week: Andy Murray).
Daniel Evans (GBR): No. 244 =========> No. 297 (Tough drop for Evans, who lost in the first round of qualifying at Queen’s Club. He’s ending his career, at age 36, at Wimbledon. But neither Queen’s nor the All-England Club saw fit to give him a wild card as he closes out a solid career – especially by British standards. No one ever said life was fair, that’s for sure).
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