Arthur Fils defends French Open crowd after opponent alleges ‘complete lack of respect’

Oli Dickson Jefford 29 May 2025 8:43 PM

Arthur Fils and Jaume Munar.

Arthur Fils fiercely defended the French Open crowd after opponent Jaume Munar alleged a “complete lack of respect” after their second-round contest.

French No 1 and 14th seed Fils battled past Munar in an enthralling contest on Court Suzanne Lenglen, overcoming an injury scare to claim a 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 0-6, 6-4 triumph in four hours and 24 minutes.

It is the first time that Fils has reached round three of his home Slam, having never previously won a match at Roland Garros before this year.

The 20-year-old looked set to retire due to injury issues in sets three and four, though a second wind saw him rally from a break down in the decider to seal a memorable victory.

Fils had raucous support throughout from the 10,000-strong Suzanne Lenglen crowd, though Munar appeared frustrated towards the end of the match.

The Spaniard was delayed trying to serve to stay in the match at 4-5 in the deciding set, and was then delayed again at 30-30, the game in which he was ultimately broken to lose the match.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, the world No 57 did not hide his anger or frustration.

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Munar said: “I’m going to be very clear on the subject, and I’m not going to mince my words.

“It’s fine if they encourage the other player, if they shout, I’m used to it. In South America it’s very intense as well.

“But what I consider a complete lack of respect – and here, it happens often – is that they sing non-stop, they interrupt continuously.

“It’s not even a question of emotional or personal impact, it’s simply that play cannot go on as normal.

“It seems like a great show for the spectators, but you have to remember we’re here to do our job. What it can’t look like is a circus and there are times here it looks like theatre.

“At the US Open it’s a show, but they understand sports differently. They can cheer a lot and have a sense of spectacle, but they never disrespect the players. In Australia it’s similar.

“Here in Paris, it’s a bit much. It would be good to calm things down a bit to let play go on more as it should.”

In his own post-match press conference, Fils was asked if he thought the crowd had crossed a line – and the Frenchman was quick to defend the thousands watching at his home major.

“When you see the crowds at football, here it’s nothing yet,” said Fils.

“When you see the crowds in the NBA, it’s nothing, or in the NFL, it doesn’t matter. The atmosphere is crazy, but it’s tennis.

“If they make a little noise before serving, it’s always a little annoying for the opponent, but you have to deal with it; there’s no choice.

“When I went to Brazil, I played [Joao] Fonseca, I didn’t complain about the crowd. You have to deal with it, there’s no choice.

“When you go to Australia, you play Australians or when you go to New York and you play against Americans, the guys scream in your ears for three, four hours, what do you want to do? You’re not going to complain about the crowd?

“You don’t have a choice, you know it’s there. I think the French public is one of the best, if not the best, and it will stay that way.”

Victory for Fils means he is provisionally up to a potential career-high of world No 13 in the ATP Live Rankings, ahead of his third-round clash on Saturday.

The French No 1 faces an intriguing test against 17th seed and former world No 5 Andrey Rublev, who beat Adam Walton in straight sets on Thursday.