Arthur Fils uses defeat to Daniil Medvedev experience to upset Alexander Zverev in Miami
Arthur Fils came from a set down to deny Alexander Zverev a chance to claim his first trophy of the season at the Miami Open.
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Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Arthur Fils (Image via X/ATP Tour, The Tennis Letter)
Arthur Fils struggled from back pain but he didn’t let it throw away a golden chance to inch closer to his first Miami Open title. On Wednesday (March 26), Fils rallied from a set down to topple first seed Alexander Zverev with scores of 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round.
The match, which lasted for two hours, saw Fils receiving treatment on his back at the end of the first set. He was doubtful about his chance to overcome the dominant three-time Grand Slam finalist but his doubt only ended up fuelling his aggression.
Another experience helped him eke out this victory. In the first event of Sunshine Double, Fils was pitted against Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals. The match was pushed to the decider where the Russian prevailed by the smallest of margins. Fils said he produces his best tennis when he plays the best players in the world.
That’s what I like, playing on the big stages against the best tennis players in the world. For now, I think I’m doing well. The experience I had in Indian Wells against Medvedev helped me a lot this time. Back then, I wasted a lot of energy hyping myself up, so today I was much calmer on the court, conserving that energy and feeling great.
Arthur Fils said at the press conference
The World No.2 edges Fils 3-2 in their head-to-head meetings and was also defeated when they met in the Hamburg European Open final last year. Zverev entered this tournament in his bid to win his first title of the season.
He also hasn’t yet lifted a trophy since the 2024 Paris Masters. Following his defeat to World No.1 Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final, Zverev suffered early exits in the three Golden Swing tournaments. And at Indian Wells, the 27-year-old was eliminated by Tallon Griekspoor in his first match.
Arthur Fils to lock horns with Jakub Mensik next
Arthur Fils is set to lock horns with fellow 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals opponent Jakub Mensik next. The Czech ace broke no sweat in the fourth round as he received a walkover from compatriot Tomas Machac.
Fils and Mensik have met just once. The Frenchman came out victorious in straight sets when they were pitted against each other in the group stages of the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals. Fils is expecting nothing less than a difficult match in the quarterfinals against the 19-year-old.
He’s in the quarterfinals and has been playing very good tennis, so he will be a tough opponent for sure. He has nothing to lose, he’s serving very well, plays fast, so I will have to sit down with my coach to figure out how we’ll approach it tomorrow. But first, I need to recover after two very difficult matches and a long tour in the previous weeks.
Arthur Fils said at the press conference
Fils became the only third Frenchman to progress to the last eight of both Sunshine Double events the same year following Yannick Noah and Gael Monfils. He is currently ranked at a career-best 15th position in the ATP Live Rankings.
Arthur Fils is yet to win the first title of the season
Arthur Fils is bidding to win his first title of the season and his career’s biggest achievement. The World No.18 has so far taken home three ATP titles: the 2023 Lyon Open, the 2024 Hamburg European Open, and the 2024 Japan Open.
Fils is yet to progress to the semifinals of an ATP event this season. So far in the season, the 20-year-old has reached three quarterfinals (at the Hong Kong Open and in the two Sunshine Double tournaments).
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