Arthur Fils achieves rare feat and secures ATP Rankings jump with dramatic Tokyo triumph
Arthur Fils displayed impressive resilience as he saved a match point en route to defeating French compatriot Ugo Humbert in a thrilling Japan Open final.
The 20-year-old prevailed 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-3 against world No 18 Humbert after three hours and four minutes at the ATP 500 event in Tokyo.
Fils had lost all three of his previous clashes with Humbert and he had to deal with the blow of losing the opening set after being up a break at 3-2. He saw four chances to restore his break advantage slip away before he was broken serving at 5-6.
In the second set, Fils overcame a left leg issue and crucially saved the only break points of the second set at 3-4, 0-40 as he forced a tiebreak.
Fils fought back from a 1-3 deficit in the tiebreak and saved a match point at 5-6 with a stunning backhand passing shot before pushing the final into a third set.
“Honestly, I think it’s the best backhand I hit all week,” Fils said of his passing shot. “It was crazy. I tried my best and it went perfectly.”
In the decider, Fils struck to break Humbert’s serve for a 5-3 lead before he held to claim the joint-biggest title of his career.
Marathon Man
The moment Fils completed a remarkable week in a 3 hour plus long final #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/G248GkfKPw
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 1, 2024
ATP News
Fils has now won two ATP 500 titles this season, having also triumphed at the Hamburg Open in July. He has won three titles overall, having claimed his maiden trophy at the ATP 250 event in Lyon last year.
The 20-year-old’s win has seen him rise three spots from 24th to 21st in the ATP Live Rankings — putting him just one spot below his career high of 20th. Humbert’s runner-up result has moved him up from 18th to 15th.
During an impressive Tokyo title run, Fils overcame four opponents ranked in the top 20: Taylor Fritz (7), Ben Shelton (17), Holger Rune (14) and Humbert (18). His other win came against Matteo Berrettini, who is currently ranked 45th, but has been as high as sixth.
Fils is the third French player to defeat four players ranked in the ATP top 20 during the same tournament since 1990.
Nicolas Escude achieved this during his title run in Rotterdam in 2002, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did it on three separate occasions (2008 Australian Open, 2008 Paris Masters, 2014 Toronto Masters).
“Honestly I don’t know [how I turned it around],” admitted Fils in a post-match interview.
“After 5-all in the first, I was feeling dead on the court. He was playing unbelievable shots. It was a very tight first set. I got a lot of break points and didn’t break. He’s such a great champion and it was very tough.
“I tried my best into the second set and then I saved one match point. Everything in tennis can turn in only one second, and it turned. So I’m very happy, but I could have lost today.
“I’m very happy about the tennis I’m producing. I’m working a lot and trying to build my tennis. I think now it’s better, from Hamburg to here. I still have to improve but it’s cool.”
