French Tennis Player Arthur Fils Claimed His First Masters 1000 Title by Defeating American Frances Tiafoe in the Final in Cincinnati

I started the first set very well, but "in the second, I lost my concentration a bit, he [Frances Tiafoe] put me under pressure, he analyzed. "I looked at myself in the mirror and said to myself: 'If you lose, you can't do worse than that. You have to fight!'".

Since the event's creation in 1899, only one Frenchman had managed to put his name on the trophy: Guy Forget, in 1991, beating Pete Sampras, then US Open title holder. Arthur Fils' run in this edition looked like a walk in the park: two straight-set wins over Top 10 members — Australian Alex De Minaur, world No. 8, in the round of 16 (6-3, 6-4), then Italian Flavio Cobolli, world No. 10 and recent Roland-Garros finalist, in the semifinals (6-3, 6-4). He conceded only two sets during the whole tournament: one against Czech Jiri Lehecka, world No. 14, in the third round (6-1, 6-7, 6-3), and another during the final against Tiafoe.

"A final, whether it's a 250, a 500 or a 1000, is always special. It's not always the best who wins, but the one who manages his nerves best. I'll do everything to be that one, he explained on Saturday, the day before the big day, in comments relayed by the daily L'Equipe.

"Even if I'm satisfied, I'm just waiting for the end of the tournament. I hope to leave with the title and, afterwards, we can celebrate. This title confirms the good form of the right-hander, who already won the ATP 500 in Barcelona (Spain) in April.

This season, the Francilien reached the quarterfinals in Masters 1000 five times, crossing that hurdle three times — semifinals in Miami (Florida) and Madrid, title in Cincinnati. But Arthur Fils had to skip Roland-Garros, injured, before an early exit at Wimbledon after two rounds. "Of course, it was difficult not to play in France, in Paris... I thought I was going to have a much better spring because with the momentum I had since Miami [in March], I felt very good, he recounted in a press conference after qualifying for the Cincinnati Masters final.

"You just have to accept it. Some things happen for a reason. It's fine.

The Frenchman is already assured of a big jump in the ATP rankings at the end of this week, moving from 21st to 11th place in the world. An ideal epic a few days before the start of the US Open (August 30 to September 13), the last Grand Slam of the year. His goal, he has not hidden it, is "to try to go far in the big tournaments". And to summarize: "So I'm very happy with my performance and my whole week, but I want to keep going.