Arthur Fils saved a quartet of match points to become the youngest Frenchman since Richard Gasquet in 2007 to reach the semi-final of a Masters 1000 event in Miami.
The 21-year-old battled to an epic 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 7-6(6) win over 22nd seed Tommy Paul in a marathon match that lasted almost three hours. Fils has won 22 out of 24 matches played against players outside the top 10 in the last 52 weeks. During this period, he didn’t play for six months, from August to February, due to a stress fracture in his back, which he first sustained at the 2025 French Open.
“It was a dog fight and I never back down from a fight,” Fils said after beating Paul. “Even if I lose, it’s okay, I just fought the best that I could.”
“That’s the best result I’ve had in my life so far. I will try to do my best in the semis, but now I’m pretty happy.” He added.
Fils, who is currently ranked 31st in the world, has posted strong results on the Tour heading into Miami. At the Qatar Open, he reached the final before losing to Carlos Alcaraz. More recently, in Indian Wells, he made the quarter-finals before falling to Alexander Zverev.
“The legs are a bit hurting, they feel a bit tight, but you know when you win, usually you don’t feel it too much,” Fils said of his current physicality in Miami.
“But if I have lost tonight, for sure tomorrow I couldn’t walk.”
It is the first time a player from France has reached the semi-finals of Miami since 2013, when Gasquet did so. Overall, Fils is only the fifth player from his country to reach this stage in the tournament’s history.
He will face Jiri Lehecka for a place in Sunday’s final. Lehecka, who knocked Taylor Fritz out of the tournament earlier this week, beat Spain’s Martin Landaluce 7-6(1), 7-5, in his latest match. He has risen to 16th in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his latest win.
“I just try to go match by match but definitely every match won at the masters 1000 level is great,” Lehecka told Tennis TV.
“I’m very proud of myself that I was able to fight through these last couple of days. I believe that it is not over and I will do whatever I can to prepare myself again for the next round and leave it all out there.”
