Matching Report
Arthur Fils made French history in Paris
Hurkacz, Musetti have Nitto ATP Finals hopes over
October 29, 2024
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.
Arthur Fils, 20, is the youngest Frenchman to win a match at the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris since Richard Gasquet in 2006.
Written by Sam Jacot
Arthur Fils reiterated his credentials as one of the hottest prospects in France on Tuesday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he became the youngest home star to record a major victory at an ATP Masters 1000 event since Richard Gasquet in 2006.
The 20-year-old #NextGenATP Fils defeated Croatia's Marin Cilic 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach the second round in Paris.
The court won with @ArthurFils1 💪
The home crowd loves it 📣📣📣@RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/ZxcAbgopzJ
– ATP Tour (@atptour) October 29, 2024
In a high-energy display inside Court Central, Fils rallied from a 5-6 lead in the first set and turned up the heat in the second set, hitting 11 winners in the set to move past Cilic after one hour and 35 minutes. at the first Lexus ATP Head2Head couples meeting.
Fils, who is number one in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, has 36 tour-level wins this season. No Frenchman has recorded more wins in 2024, Ugo Humbert with 35.
Fils has won ATP 500 titles in Hamburg and Tokyo this year and will go on to seek his first ATP Masters 1000 title when he takes on Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round.
The German top seed defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-2, ending Italy's fading hopes of competing in the Nitto ATP Finals in November. Struff fired nine aces and won 82 percent (37/45) of her forehand points in her 77-minute win.
Hubert Hurkacz's hopes of Turin also came to an end on Tuesday morning in Paris. #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen dispatched the Pole 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second round for the first time in the French capital.
Hurkacz arrived in Paris 13th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and needed a final run at a tough indoor event to have a chance to play in northern Italy next month. Andrey Rublev (3,720 points) currently holds the final spot in eighth place, with Casper Ruud in seventh place (3,855 points), Alex de Minaur (3,555 points), Grigor Dimitrov in 10th place (points 3,150) and 12. Stefanos Tsitsipas (3,015 points) is still alive in Paris.
Michelsen, second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, will meet Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the second round. The 20-year-old has reached tour-level finals in Newport and Winston-Salem in 2024.
