BARCELONA, April 20 — Up-and-coming Frenchman Arthur Fils beat Russian Andrey Rublev 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) to lift the Barcelona clay-court title yesterday with Roland Garros just a month away.
The 21-year-old Fils returned from an eight-month injury absence in February and has been in strong form, finishing as runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz in Doha, before breezing to a fourth trophy of his career yesterday.
“These eight months have been hard,” he said. “And now here I am winning a tournament again.”
The result will make him France’s top-ranked male player after showing poise and maturity to negotiate his way to this ATP 500 title, including fighting from a set down to beat Spanish hope Rafael Jodar in the semi-final.
Yesterday, he went 2-0 down in the first set before finding his serve and a flurry of winning shots to win the first set 6-2, unnerving the 28-year-old Rublev.
In the second set, he blew four tournament points, sending the set to a tie-break, where he regained his nerve and had Rublev running around for a comfortable 7-2 close out.
“It was all in my head at the end. I played very well for a set and a half, but the pressure of the title caught up with me,” he said of the match points that slipped away.
“At the end, I told myself I just had to put the ball in, and it paid off.”
Yannick Noah was the last Frenchman to win Roland Garros in 1983, and Fils will be in the spotlight with the 2026 tournament starting on May 18.
French open champion Alcaraz pulled out of the Barcelona tournament with a wrist problem midweek. — AFP
