Toby Samuel reached his first ATP quarter-final by beating Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-1, 7-6 (9-7), and the win gave the 23-year-old a first ATP main tour victory. It also came days before Wimbledon’s main draw was due to start on Monday 29 June, with Samuel building toward his singles debut at The Championships.
Samuel takes control early
The match turned quickly. Samuel won the opening set 6-1 in 21 minutes on Court 1, then closed out a tighter second set in the 30-degree heat in Eastbourne.
He said after the win: “It’s huge. I’m sort of starting to believe I can play at this level and play on the tour fully. It’s just a huge boost for my confidence.” He added: “I went out today and just played freely.”
Lucky loser, first-time quarter-finalist
The route into the draw was unusual. Francisco Cerundolo withdrew, which gave Samuel a bye into the second round, and he described the situation as “a weird situation because I lost in the qualifiers.”
“I’m super lucky to have got a lucky loser place into the second round,” he said. “Yesterday I found out I got in with a first-round bye, so I kept my head down.” He also said: “I was lucky that I got a day’s notice before I had to go out.”
Juan Manuel Cerundolo next
Samuel now goes into a quarter-final debut in Devonshire Park against Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The opponent is Francisco Cerundolo’s younger brother and has reached the fourth round of the French Open in June and the main draw of The Championships twice.
For Samuel, the win carries more than one line of ranking form. He is World No.142 and the British No.5, and the result gives him a first ATP main tour win just before the switch to SW19. He had appeared in the doubles alongside Connor Thomson in 2023, but this is the first time he has taken a singles run this deep at ATP level.
