“The Masters is a childhood dream”: Fils’ special day, into the Paris last 16 and Turin
Qualified for his first ATP Finals thanks to Quentin Halys, then a 6-3, 7-6 (4) winner over Tomas Machac in the evening, Arthur Fils looked back on his day at the Rolex Paris Masters before facing Taylor Fritz in the last 16.
Arthur Fils, Rolex Paris Masters 2026 | © Michel Baucher / PsNewz
Arthur Fils lived through a day like no other at the Rolex Paris Masters on Wednesday. In the afternoon, Quentin Halys’ 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9) win over Frances Tiafoe sealed his first qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals. In the evening, the sixth seed beat Czech qualifier Tomas Machac 6-3, 7-6 (4) to reach the last 16, where he faces Taylor Fritz on Thursday night. Just off court after the match, wearing his broadest smile, he described in French the feelings of what was perhaps the best day of his tennis career.
A place at the ATP Finals and a straight-sets win in the evening: was it the perfect day?
Honestly, it’s a day I won’t forget, that’s for sure. Today I followed Quentin’s (Halys, Ed.) match. I thank him for his win, because it allowed me to relax a little for this match tonight. But very happy with the performance. It wasn’t an easy match. I’m pretty good on fast surfaces, so I tried to stay focused, I took my chance in the tie-break and it went my way.
The ATP Finals, “a childhood dream”
What does this qualification for the ATP Finals mean to you?
It’s a childhood dream. The Masters is a childhood dream. I’m very, very happy to be able to take part this year. I hope I’ll be able to take part often, every year, but I’m very, very happy to qualify this year and I’m just going to enjoy it.
It’s such a special tournament…
It’s true it’s a tournament I’m not used to. But it’s a good experience. With the format, even if you lose the first match, nothing is decided. So at least there’s less pressure, I think.
You talk about a special day. Were you torn between a joy you could not yet savor and the focus on your match?
Well, I still savored it, I was quite happy, I celebrated well. I’m still in the draw here, but once I’m done, I think we’ll go for a nice dinner. But I had to stay focused on my match tonight. It was an important appointment for me. And it was fine, I handled it well.
You took off your headphones as you walked on court…
I took off my headphones, and I never do that. It was just to be able to feel this atmosphere, this ambience. I got goosebumps. This welcome really, really made me happy.
How do you feel physically?
What do you think? Very good. Everything is fine, the body feels good. There are still two tournaments left (the Rolex Paris Masters and the ATP Finals, Ed.), we push one last time and then the season will be over.
Taylor Fritz, “a very, very big test”
Taylor Fritz in the next round?
Not easy, really, really not easy. I watched him today. He played very, very well against Molcan (6-7 (6), 7-5, 7-6 (5), Ed.), so it’s going to be a very, very big test for me. I go on court, I think I have nothing to lose. I’m at home, I’m going to go for it.
Several players, including Novak Djokovic, said this was the fastest surface of the season. How do you see your game on fast courts, given that your best results have rather come on clay?
It’s true it’s really different for my game. Then, as we saw today, I served very, very well. I’m quite dynamic on my legs, I manage to move well, so it’s rather an advantage on a very fast surface like this one. I need to come forward a bit more, try to return a bit better, but for now it’s still quite positive.
A lot of big seeds fell today. How did you see it, and what does it change for the rest of the tournament?
It doesn’t change much, but it’s true the day was quite surprising. A lot of big names lost today. We had a little joke with the team, we said it couldn’t carry on with me. It reassured me to see Carlos (Alcaraz, who beat Alex Michelsen 7-6 (4), 6-3, Ed.) win. We said to ourselves: “OK, no, it’s fine.”
