Arthur Fils has insisted everything is ‘all good’ with Stefanos Tsitsipas after the two exchanged words following their clash at the Italian Open on Sunday.
The French 13th seed recovered from a set down to beat Tsitsipas 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, and record his sixth win over a top-20 player this season. Fils has made it through to the last 16 in five out of his previous six Masters 1000 tournaments played. Against Tsitsipas, he hit 26 winners and won 63% of his first service points. He now leads the Greek 4-0 in their head-to-head.
Immediately after Fils secured victory, the two players had a lengthy conversation at the net, which was triggered by a point played during the second set. A Tsitsipas backhand shot was hit directly at the Frenchman and brushed past him. The former world No.3 did put his hands up to apologise, but Fils had his back turned.
Quizzed about the frosty conversation during his on-court interview, Fils played down any suggestion of a conflict between him and Tsitsipas. Describing his opponent as a ‘great champion.’
“I like him. He’s a great guy. A great champion,” Fils said of Tsitsipas. “It was a bit tight in the middle of the second set. He went for my body. It’s part of the game. There’s nothing wrong with it.
“I tried to find a way to fight. I found this kind of excuse to go and to fight. Ok, he told me at the end he wasn’t going for my body. I told him ‘I know it.’ It’s ok. It’s all good. I just needed to find a way to fight.”
Controversy aside, Fils has become only the second French player to win 20 matches at Masters 1000 events before their 21st birthday. The first to do so was Richard Gasquet, who achieved 30.
Fils, who has won 19 out of 28 matches played so far in 2025, will next take on either second seed Alexander Zverev or Lithuania’s Vilius Gaubas.
