Rusty but resilient, Fils fights past Svajda in Montreal return
Playing for the first time since the hip scare that ended his Washington week, Arthur Fils shook off the rust to beat Zachary Svajda 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 and reach the third round in Montreal. Tentative early and briefly unravelling – a smashed racket and a lost second set – the No 18 seed found his devastating forehand to win 19 of the last 22 points.
Arthur Fils, Montreal 2026 | © Zuma / PsNewz
Arthur Fils came through a scrappy, stop-start contest to beat American Zachary Svajda 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 on Wednesday evening and reach the third round of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, a first win for the Frenchman since Wimbledon.
The context mattered as much as the result. This was Fils’s first outing since the hip scare he suffered late in his defeat to Rafael Jodar (7-6(5), 6-3) in Washington last week, the latest flare-up in an injury-hit season that has cost the 22-year-old a string of important events.
Handed a first-round bye as the No 18 seed, he understandably looked short of match sharpness early on: tentative footwork, mistimed forehands and a clutch of backhands into the net saw him hand over an early break and drop the first three games in a blur.
To his credit, the world No 24 neither panicked nor sulked. He gradually found his range, took over with his ferocious forehand and preyed on the timid second serves of the 87th-ranked Svajda to level the set. After saving two break points at 3-2 with a service winner and an ace, he edged in front and duly banked the first set.
The second brought a sudden air pocket that his lack of competition explained. Having created three break chances early, Fils strung together three errors from 2-1, two of them avoidable backhands, and Svajda pinched the break almost by default. The Frenchman flung his racket down – then, a game later, smashed it after another backhand miss. Oddly, the outburst seemed to clear his head: he clawed back from 4-1 to 4-3 before one more wobble (two forehand errors and a double fault) let the set slip.
It proved a mere hiccup. The third set was a procession: Fils won 19 of the last 22 points, a runaway finish that underlined exactly why he is rated one of the game’s biggest talents when his body allows. It was his 24th win of 2026.
He will not, however, face Valentin Vacherot in the last 32 — the Monégasque was beaten by Argentina’s Mariano Navone, ranked No 44, who fought back to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. One match at a time, but Fils is up and running again.
