“Ici c’est Paris”: Fils beats Machac in Paris on the day he qualifies for Turin, sets up Fritz rematch
Hours after qualifying for his first ATP Finals, Arthur Fils beat qualifier Tomas Machac 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters. He faces Taylor Fritz next, a week after retiring against the American in Basel.
Arthur Fils, Rolex Paris Masters 2026 | © Matthieu Mirville/ZUMA Press Wire
Despite a day on which the world’s best players fell one after another, Arthur Fils held firm at home on Wednesday. The sixth seed beat Czech qualifier Tomas Machac 6-3, 7-6 (4) to close the programme on Court Central, in the last match of the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters, hours after qualifying for his first ATP Finals. The Frenchman closed out the tie-break with two authoritative service winners, a reflection of the visible hunger that drove him throughout the match.
He then wrote “Ici c’est Paris” (“This is Paris”) on the camera lens, the rallying cry of Paris Saint-Germain, the two-time reigning Champions League winners. “Honestly, it’s been a year and a half since I played at home. I missed it. Thank you so much for the atmosphere,” Fils said in French in his on-court interview. “It’s the first time this year that I’ve walked out without my headphones, just to feel the atmosphere, and honestly I was buzzing. It’s pure joy.”
“I didn’t really know what to expect with him,” he said of Machac. “Sometimes he serves like Isner or hits unplayable forehands. I was quite happy with my level. And tomorrow (Thursday) I have another big match waiting for me.”
Fils, ranked No. 7, will face 11th seed Taylor Fritz in the third round, a week after retiring against the American with a back problem in the Basel quarter-finals. “We know each other well. I know it won’t be easy, it’s his favourite surface,” Fils warned. “But I’m at home, so that’s the advantage.”
Fils drops three points on serve in the first set
Fils took the opening set in 42 minutes without facing a break point. He lost only three points on his serve (20 of 23) and held twice to love. One break was enough: he converted his second break point to lead 2-0.
Machac fought to stay in the set. Serving at 2-5, he saved three set points in a 28-point game with 11 deuces, needing 10 game points to hold. Fils then served out the set to love on his first set point.
Machac pushes, Fils wins the tie-break
The Czech, who came through qualifying and had won three matches in a row for the first time since January, played far more aggressively and freely in the second set. Fils was pushed to 30-30 serving at 5-6, but held with authority to force a tie-break.
Machac led 2-0 in the breaker. Fils levelled at 2-2 and turned to the crowd to fire up Court Central. He took the lead for the first time at 4-3 with an ace, went 5-4 up when Machac missed a forehand approach, and sealed the match with two service winners.
A rematch with Fritz after Basel
The win extends Fils’s French record for Masters 1000 wins in a season to 22. He arrived in Paris with doubts about his fitness after retiring trailing Fritz 6-2, 2-0 in Basel last Friday, with lower back discomfort.
Fritz, who came from a set down to beat Benjamin Bonzi in the first round, beat qualifier Alex Molcan 6-7 (6), 7-5, 7-6 (5) earlier on Wednesday.
