He is not likely to forget this coronation any time soon. While he had never beaten his compatriot Ugo Humbert and he seemed at the end of his rope physically after a set, Arthur Fils pushed himself to the limit to snatch the 3rd title of his career in Tokyo, and the second this year in ATP 500 after Hamburg. At the end of a fratricidal fight lasting more than three hours (3:04 a.m. precisely), the younger of the two Frenchmen won 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 in the final on Tuesday, saving a match point in the process in the tie-break of the second round.
A match between two Blues is generally not easy to manage mentally for either one. So when it comes to the 32nd Franco-French final of the Open era and the first in almost five years, the equation is even more complicated. Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils therefore did not play their best match of the week this Tuesday, but when the first seemed almost timid at times, the second radiated his will in adversity and his ability to sublimate himself while He also fought against pain.
In fact, as he had shown against Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Holger Rune, Fils was astonishing with his resilience in the face of hard blows in this final. Better into his match, more impactful thanks in particular to the heaviness of his curled cross forehand, he made the first break (3-2) before giving it back when he was leading 40/30 on his serve by making an error rough on the forehand and two double faults. Pressing at the end of the set without managing to make a comeback, he then gave in at the worst moment (5-7) after more than an hour and his strength then seemed to abandon him.
It must be said that the fatigue accumulated to reach this final was logically felt, not to mention the late ends of matches which also affected his recovery. But far from resigning himself, Fils changed his mind by shortening the points as much as possible. He then found some relaxation, serving better and connecting serve-volleys. But at 5-7, 3-4, 0/40 against him on his serve, the implacable logic of the opponent’s physical superiority seemed to impose itself. It was without counting on the determination of Fils who then lined up 5 points before pushing Humbert to the tie-break. And we hadn’t seen anything yet.
More information to follow…
