Thiago Seyboth Wild explains his post match spat with Arthur Fils in the Davis Cup
Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert won their singles matches at the Davis Cup qualifier to give France a 2-0 lead over Brazil.
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Thiago Seyboth Wild and Arthur Fils (Via X)
Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert won their singles matches to give France a 2-0 lead over Brazil in the Davis Cup 2025 qualifier. Fils clinched the second victory by defeating Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-1, 6-4. This match however ended on a sour note due to two refereeing errors.
Fils was accused of cheating to get a point during the match which is believed to be the reason for the argument. The tension between both the players escalated and the coaches of both teams had to intervene to stop it. The French crowd eventually booed Wild off the court. Fils however, later did admit that Wild had been the victim of a refereeing error.
To be honest, I don’t think he should have (given him the point). I probably wouldn’t have done it, no player would have done it I think. But regardless of that, it’s not up to him to do it, it’s up to the referee to make his decision. The referee made a bad decision and it completely changed the game.
Thiago Seyboth Wild via L’Equipe
At 4-4 in the second set, with Arthur Fils having the advantage, the chair umpire considered that Thiago Seyboth Wild had touched a ball which was going out, with his racket and offered the break to the Frenchman. The call gave Fils the point to win the game and take him to 5-4 despite Wild and his captain pleading that no contact had been made. Later at a press conference Fils stated that he doesn’t think Wild touched the ball.
Wild and his captain were adamant after the match, convinced that, without this error, the Brazilian would have had the means to outplay the Frenchman and therefore give a completely different turn to this match. during the second contested refereeing error, on a first ball from Fils, Wild seemed to ask for a challenge. However, Wild assured that he did not ask for anything and that he just made a slightly guttural sound.
Arthur Fils won the match with both players exchanging a strong handshake
From the French bench, they were convinced that Wild had spoken. The referee, himself, also considered that Wild had asked for the challenge. The point stopped when Fils had just put the ball in the net, Wild positioned himself as if he had won the point, without realizing that the referee was going to launch the challenge.
When Wild understood the situation, he became angry again with the chair umpire’s decision. At 5-4, Fils said that he didn’t understand what had happened. The Frenchman assumed he said ‘challenge’ so he thought that they had to replay the point but he was later told that it was match point.
Later, the Frenchman won the match, with the two players exchanging a very heated handshake. Words were exchanged and Paul-Henri Mathieu had to intervene, an incident that both players downplayed.
Fils concluded that when one finishes a match like that, there’s a bit of frustration on both sides, but everything’s fine. They crossed paths and talked Fils further added without dwelling on what his opponent had said to him at the net.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2621 Articles Published)