Arthur Fils Hits Back at Critics with ‘Who’s Gonna Talk Now?’ Message After Cincinnati Win

Arthur Fils overcame a set deficit to beat home favorite Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 in the final of the Cincinnati Masters on Sunday (August 23), winning his career’s first Big Title. Fils, who before this tournament had played only a couple of Masters 1000 semifinals, had also never made it past the second round in Cincinnati.

Those two semifinals he played in this year’s Miami Open and the Madrid Open. Before arriving in Cincinnati, Fils had made two finals. He first lost in Qatar to seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz, then clinched the Barcelona Open by defeating Andrey Rublev, also ending his trophy drought.

After grabbing his career’s biggest title, Fils gave it back to the critics, writing, “Who’s gonna talk now?,” on the camera lens. When asked at the press conference why Fils wrote that message, he said:

Because people were talking very bad. In France, it’s very easy sometimes to have the… I don’t have the nice word. I have a bad word. Okay, here we go. Criticize. It’s very easy to criticize. And I didn’t play French Open. I lost early in Washington, and then people thinks that I’m done and I don’t know how to play tennis. But here we are. I got the title, and I think no one’s going to talk now.

Fils was forced to skip the French Open due to a persistent hip injury. After his second-round upset at Wimbledon, the 22-year-old suffered an opening-round defeat at the Citi Open.

Arthur Fils after beating Tiafoe to win his 1st Masters title in Cincinnati:

“Who’s gonna talk now???”

😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤 pic.twitter.com/9utOoH5z9G

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 23, 2026

Fils has been dealing with ups and downs this season. Although he is reaching finals and winning titles, he has suffered early-round exits and has withdrawn from a few tournaments, including the Australian Open and the French Open, due to injuries. But in spite of his injury woes, Fils is trying to remain positive, and said this mindset is helping him win titles.

Well, it pays with the title, of course. If I was, for sure, if I was negative, I was I had no chance to win one title or to win either to win couple of matches here. I mean, you just have to stay positive and to find a way to make it work. And even if I didn’t win today, I knew that being positive was going to help me in the next weeks in the US Open or wherever in Asia swing or so. Yeah, it’s something very important, I think.

Arthur Fils added

Who’s gonna talk now ? https://t.co/iWm43g5GZe

— Arthur Fils (@ArthurFils) August 23, 2026

Fils will be playing the US Open for the third time. In his previous two appearances, he lost in the second round.

Arthur Fils credits bathroom break talk for his Cincinnati win

Arthur Fils has now become the second man born in 2004 or later to win a Masters 1000 title. The first was 20-year-old Jakub Mensik, who last year upset Novak Djokovic in the Miami Open final. Fils, during the on-court interview after his win, revealed that after losing the second set, he gave himself a pep talk during the bathroom break. The result was a 6-0 win in the decider.

I had a small talk with myself in the toilet. I looked at myself in the mirror and said, ‘Man, even if you have to lose, you’re not going to get worse. So you need to fight, and you need to find a way’.

The Frenchman has now improved his head-to-head record over the American ace to 2-0. Tiafoe played his career’s second Cincinnati final, following the 2024 season (World No.1 Jannik Sinner beat him). These were the only two finals the 28-year-old has played in Masters 1000 tournaments.

Fiafoe also played his third final of the season in Cincinnati. At the Mexican Open, he lost to Flavio Cobolli, while at the Halle Open, he ended his title drought by defeating compatriot Taylor Fritz. It marked his final win since the 2023 Stuttgart Open.

Also read: Stefanos Tsitsipas Redefines His Career Path with a Fresh Long-Term Perspective: “I am a Night Owl”