“Remember who you are”: Tsitsipas, 0-5 against Fils, knocks out the Cincinnati champion
Stefanos Tsitsipas had lost all five meetings with Arthur Fils and taken one game off him in Miami in March, and he was a set and a break down on Monday night before beating the Cincinnati champion 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-4. The former World No. 3, now ranked No. 53, has just beaten his first Top 20 at the US Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas 2026 | © Zuma / PsNewz
Stefanos Tsitsipas had never taken a set off Arthur Fils. Five meetings, five defeats, the most recent a 6-0, 6-1 dismissal in the third round at the Miami Masters 1000 in March. On Monday evening at Flushing Meadows the Greek was a set and a break down, facing a point that would have put him two breaks behind, and he won 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-4 to put the No. 10 seed out of the US Open in the first round.
Ranked No. 53, Tsitsipas had not beaten a top-20 player at this tournament before Monday. He posted three words on social media afterwards: “Remember who you are.”
It is the second night running that the US Open has lost one of its headline men in the first round, after Novak Djokovic, the No. 4 seed, was beaten by Mariano Navone 7-6 (5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 on Sunday.
The turn came at 2-5 in the second set
Fils had taken the opening set 6-4 and led 5-2 in the second set when the match changed. Tsitsipas held, broke back, forced the tiebreak and took it 7-3. He then won the third set 6-1, broke at the start of the fourth and closed it out 6-4. Fils destroyed his racquet in the closing stages.
“I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say. It’s an amazing start to the tournament,” Tsitsipas said on court. “Guys, you had my back the entire match. Thank you so much.”
Asked what he had told himself when he was a break down and staring at a second, his answer was about the weight rather than the tennis.
“Let go off expectations. I feel like we can get dragged with a lot of expectations,” Tsitsipas said. “Carrying that heavy boat is not easy during a match, especially when the psychological game of a match like that is crucial. It’s important to stay well composed and keep building on your game. I owe everything to letting go, not having any expectations, and just being a warrior, a Greek fighter. All the above.”
The Cincinnati champion goes out in one match
The defeat ends the best month of Fils’s career eleven days after it peaked. The 21-year-old Frenchman won the Cincinnati Masters 1000, the first title at that level of his career, beating Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and seven minutes in the semi-finals with 22 winners to three. He became the second Frenchman to reach the Cincinnati final in the Open era, after Guy Forget in 1991, and the second man born in 2004 or later to reach a Masters 1000 final, after Jakub Mensik.
Two days before the draw began, Gael Monfils named him as the French player he believes will win a major. “For me he has a very, very high potential,” Monfils said. “I think he has a chance to crack a slam. His potential is no limits.” Daniil Medvedev, asked who benefits from Jannik Sinner’s absence from this tournament, gave the same name first: “Arthur won Cincinnati, confidence right now.”
Tsitsipas has spent the season a long way from where he used to live. A former World No. 3, a Roland-Garros finalist and a two-time Australian Open finalist, he came into this fortnight outside the top 50. Asked on court whether he can return to the top of the game, he did not dismiss it.
“Why not? I’m taking it a day at a time. I don’t wanna be looking too far away. I prefer to stay grounded in the moment,” he said. “A win like this today matters a lot to me. I’m very proud of myself, the way I fought and executed my game plan. Most of all I have an incredible team by my side that was just dragging me through the entire process. I can’t be more happy right now.”
The team he was referring to is only three months old. Tsitsipas began working with Patrick Mouratoglou again in June, with Thomas Perrin taking over as his daily coach, and the partnership delivered inside six weeks: he won the Gstaad ATP 250 in July, his only title of the season. Monday was the first evidence that it travels to the majors.
He plays South African qualifier Lloyd Harris in the second round.
