(Video) Arthur Fils Removes his Shirt to Create an Iconic Winning Celebration at Roland Garros

Braving a back injury, Arthur Fils had an epic five-setter victory at the second round of Roland Garros.

(Video) Arthur Fils Removes his Shirt to Create an Iconic Winning Celebration at Roland Garros

Arthur Fils had a wild celebration (via X-Univers Tennis)

After defeating Nicolas Jarry in the opening round, Arthur Fils faced Jaume Munar in an epic five-setter in the next round of the Roland Garros. Braving a back injury, the Frenchman had one of the most dramatic wins of his career against Munar.

Fils looked in control after clinching two tight tie-breaks to move clear, before a back injury in the third set seemed set to hamper his chances. He almost stopped competing in the third and fourth sets but surprised everyone by giving his all in the fifth set. He came from a break down in the decider, battling through the pain and playing with great aggression to earn a thrilling 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 0-6, 6-4 win.

After sealing victory on his first match point after four hours and 25 minutes, Fils had a wild and ecstatic celebration where he ripped off his shirt and embraced the raucous cheers from the packed home crowd on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The 20-year-old now leads the Spaniard 2-0 in the head-to-head and holds a 3-1 five-set record at majors.

Arthur Fils describes this match as the best match of his career

Arthur Fils called this victory the best match of his career. The 20-year-old added that he had never experienced anything like this before. He recalled having had tough matches but called his second-round victory at Roland Garros, clearly the best one of his life:

I don’t really have a lot of words. It’s thanks to you guys. Even if I was leading 2 sets to 0… I knew it was very physical. I entered the 2nd set tiebreak not feeling very well. But I told myself that it’s a 5 set match. Even if you lose the next two sets, there’s always a 5th set. I said that to my box. That I’ll focus on the 5th set and we’ll see what happens. It all went well in the end.

Arthur Fils (2)
Arthur Fils (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

Fil’s opponent Jaume Munar, however, cast his doubts about the authenticity of Fils’ injury. In the post-match press conference, Munar stated that if one has a real injury, they don’t play the fifth set like Fils did. Munar also made a comment on Fils’ beverage choice, remarking that he saw him drinking pickle juice in the last set, before going on to suggest that he might have been suffering from cramps rather than a back injury.

Arthur Fils will face Andrey Rublev in the third round of the Roland Garros

Fils will lock horns with two-time quarterfinalist Andrey Rublev in the third round of the Roland Garros. Rublev defeated Llyod Harris and Adam Walton in his previous rounds of the tournament this year. Fils and Rublev have a 1-1 head-to-head record. They last met at the Round of 16 of the Monte Carlo Masters this year, where Fils defeated the Russian in straight sets. Their upcoming meeting will be their second meeting on clay.

Andrey Rublev (via X/Madrid Open)
Andrey Rublev (via X/Madrid Open)

Fils has had a promising clay court season so far, reaching the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters and the semifinals of the Barcelona Open, losing on both occasions to Carlos Alcaraz. Rublev, although having a disappointing start to his clay court season, reached the finals of his last tournament – the Hamburg Open where he lost to Flavio Cobolli in straight sets.

Also Read: Jannik Sinner Refutes Jaume Munar’s Comments by Acknowledging ‘Respectful’ French Crowds