In Melbourne, it goes for Arthur Fils. The French No.2 overcame a difficult start to qualify for the second round of the Australian Open on Sunday, while most of the other matches were interrupted by rain.
Scheduled to open the day on the Margaret Court Arena, the Frenchman, 20th player in the world, struggled against the Finnish Otto Virtanen (92nd) but finally validated his ticket for the 2nd round in four sets: 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-4.
A “pressure” start to the match
The match started off difficult for the right-hander, broken by Virtanen at 4-4 in the second set after he had already conceded the first. But Fils immediately managed to break the break (5-5), before pocketing the second set in the tie-break and definitively gaining the upper hand over his opponent.
“He put me under pressure, I was playing really badly” at the start of the match, commented Arthur Fils after his victory. “So at first I just tried to put the ball back in the court. Game after game, I played more aggressively,” said the man who was eliminated in the second round for his first participation in the Australian Open in 2024.
Towards a 3rd Humbert-Fils round?
In the next round, Arthur Fils will cross swords with his compatriot Quentin Halys (71st) or the Australian Adam Walton (91st). If he qualifies, he could cross paths with French No.1 Ugo Humbert (14th) in the third round, who must play his first round at the end of the evening against Italian Matteo Gigante (146th).
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The main match of the day this Sunday in the men’s draw, between world No.2 Alexander Zverev and another Frenchman, Lucas Pouille (104th), is scheduled for the late evening at the Rod Laver Arena. Apart from the three main courts, which have a roof allowing dry play, the first round matches were suspended around noon following a storm and torrential rain. The game will resume at the earliest at 4 p.m. (6 a.m. in Paris), said the organizers of the first Grand Slam of the season.
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