Arthur Fils after his victory in the 1st round: “Two years ago, I probably would have lost this match”

“Easy with the Australian accent“. Arthur Son had despite wanting to joke when debriefing his victory with the announcer at the Margaret Court Arena, we felt relieved. Relieved of this qualification, obviously, but above all of a scenario which ended up working out in his favor despite a big scare. Facing bomber Otto Virtanen, the Frenchman suffered repeated attacks from his opponent for almost two sets. The Finn even served to lead two sets to zero. But Son is no longer quite the same.

In recent years, in Grand Slams, when things did not turn out quickly in his favor, he had a tendency to get frustrated, to almost give up. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Mattéo Arnaldi and Tallon Griekspoor were able, at the time, to ride on these slacks to eliminate the Frenchman from the tables far too quickly. But, in 2025, Son is no longer quite the same player, despite his 20 years. This victory, finally obtained in four sets, bears the mark of an impeccable mentality and an impeccable attitude.

“Honestly, it was a really complicated match against a great opponenthe detailed afterwards. Being down one set to zero, him serving to win the second… I was a little short. He put pressure on me, hitting hard and fast. But I’m honestly happy with the end of the second set“. He can be. Trailing 5-4, Fils turned the tide with authority and a lot of personality. His tie-break, in particular, was a model of tactical accuracy.

“I really stayed calm the whole matchhe further detailed. Even at 5-4, I didn’t panic because I felt that I was there, that I wasn’t playing that bad. I had good feelings even if I missed things. I just said to myself ‘even if you’re down two sets to zero, you’ll have the opportunity to break and build from that’. If I lose my temper, there’s no way I’ll get those opportunities. So the only thing to do is stay calm and do your best. But I think I probably would have lost this match two years ago“.

This is undoubtedly the most beautiful symbol of the Frenchman’s progress in recent months. Beyond his pure qualities, particularly physical, Son learned to manage the rhythm of a Grand Slam match, with its ups, downs and necessary adaptations, like this Sunday when the rain in Melbourne transformed the Margaret Court Indoor court arena.

“Basically, the plan was to make him play as many balls as possiblehe says again. And then, we closed the roof, my forehand bounced less, my spin took less so everything was at the right height for him. In these indoor conditions, he plays very well, he rarely misses and hits very hard. So my plan was flawed.” But Fils was worthy of his top seed status to finally find the right answers and emerge victorious from a tricky first day.

If he swears he has no ambition other than playing the matches one after the other, the Frenchman will once again have the face of a favorite in the 2nd round, against Quentin Halys or Adam Walton. And after? A potential 3rd round against Ugo Humbert. Certainly he will need this new serenity for a duel that is so complicated to manage emotionally.