Arthur Fils has broken new ground at Wimbledon but he did so in unfortunate circumstances.
The 20-year-old Frenchman is through to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career after his opponent Hubert Hurkacz was forced to call it quits. Fils was leading the match 7-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-6, when his Polish opponent took a tumble on the ground and suffered what appeared to be a knee injury. As a result, Hurkacz had to retire from the match which is something he hasn’t done since the 2021 Italian Open.
“It was the first time I had this situation, so I didn’t really know how to handle it,” Fils commented during his press conference.
“I think that I did pretty good. I didn’t know if I had to do one kick serve and just make him play.
“Hallelujah, I passed the first serve. I mean, I played two great points because it wasn’t that easy. Then he stopped. Of course, it’s a sad end, but I’m happy about how I deal with those two points.”
When Hurkacz suffered his fall, he went over the net to check on his peer and help him get back up.
“I saw a friend. He was in pain and he couldn’t move. I didn’t care about the score. I was just hoping that the guy is well and he can still walk and everything.” Fils commented.
Fils, who beat Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker in his opening match, is the youngest Frenchman to reach the last 32 at Wimbledon since Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils in 2005. His breakthrough comes during what has been an encouraging season where he reached the semi-finals in Auckland the quarter-finals at four other events. Last year he recorded wins over top 10 players Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Whilst he is heading in the right direction, Fils admits there is plenty of room for improvement in his game. Especiallywhen it comes to the grass.
“It’s only my second year on grass. Okay, I’m playing better than last year, but I still have so much to improve.” He said.
“Sometimes my movement, I don’t know how to move on it (the grass). I don’t know if I’m too powerful but I’m always slipping.”
Fils will play Roman Safiullin in the next round.
