Matching Report
#NextGenATP Fils eyes ATP 500 hat-trick after drubbing Tsitsipas in Basel
The seventh seed faces either Rublev or Shelton in the final four
October 25, 2024
Swiss Indoor Basel
Arthur Fils advances to his third consecutive ATP 500 semifinal in Swiss Indoor Basel.
Written by Jerome Coombe
Arthur Fils was in no mood to let his run down the ATP 500 events on Friday in Swiss Indoor Basel.
The #NextGenATP star produced a thrilling performance to defeat third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5), 6-3 and advance to the last four in Basel. The Fils have now won 13 games in a row at this level, backed by titles in Hamburg and Tokyo this year. With the win, the 20-year-old improved to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
“I think I served very well,” said Fils, who won 88 percent (29/33) of the points after his first serve and did not face a break point, according to Infosys ATP Stats. “I was very focused. I missed a crazy point, but I’m really happy with the way I handled the break and I think I played really well in the second set as well.
“I found a way to refocus [after missing the first two set points]and I think I did that very well, so I’m happy.”
YOU ARE BIIIIIG PROBLEM 💎@ArthurFils1 punches his ticket to his 9th ATP Tour semifinal! #SwissIndoorsBasel pic.twitter.com/JvmW6Zaole
– ATP Tour (@atptour) October 25, 2024
The Phils, who improved to 8-1 vs. Top 20 players from July, will still release a set this week in Vienna. The Frenchman applied pressure throughout the first set against Tsitsipas, but was unable to convert his four points. However, Fils survived a high-quality break before cruising to an 83-minute victory.
The defeat hurt Tsitsipas’ hopes of qualifying for a sixth consecutive appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, having won the tournament in his debut in 2019. The 26-year-old sits in 12th place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 745. points ahead of eighth-placed Andrey Rublev, who will face Ben Shelton in the second quarter-final in Basel.
Fils remains in the top spot in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, 1,235 points ahead of second-placed Alex Michelsen. His semi-final opponent in Basel will be top seed Andrey Rublev or his doubles partner in the week, Ben Shelton.
