#NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils extended his winning streak to 11 matches at ATP 500 events on Monday at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where he defeated German Daniel Altmaier 7-6(5), 6-3.
Fils has been in red-hot form at ATP 500 tournaments recently, triumphing on clay in Hamburg before lifting the trophy on hard in Tokyo.
Aiming for another deep run this week, the 20-year-old saved two set points in the first set against Altmaier before he rallied from a break down in the second set to reach the second round in one hour and 40 minutes.
Fils, currently first in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and set to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, will next play Jiri Lehecka or Pedro Martinez.
MAGNIFIQUE FILS 💫#SwissIndoorsBasel | @ArthurFils1 pic.twitter.com/ROdQDXN6JP
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 21, 2024Top seed Andrey Rublev breezed through his Basel debut, dismissing Portugal's Nuno Borges 6-3, 6-2 as he strengthened his place inside the Top 8 of the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin.
Seeking a fifth consecutive appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, the 27-year-old became the fourth player to reach 30 hard-court wins on the year (30-13) as he picked up his 41st win overall on the season. He next will play the winner of Croatian Marin Cilic and Chile's Alejandro Tabilo.
Rublev won 25 of 26 first-serve points and saved the lone break point he faced. The 16-time ATP Tour champion is currently eighth in the Live Race and moved 315 points clear of ninth-placed Australian Alex de Minaur with today's win. De Minaur is yet to play his opening-round match in Vienna.
"I practised for less than two days, which sometimes is not enough, especially for the first time here," Rublev said. "I was a bit nervous and didn't know what to expect. But now I have a day off to rest and enjoy some time."
Earlier, lucky loser David Goffin continued his impressive recent form by moving past Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2.
The Belgian defeated Lorenzo Musetti and Alexander Zverev en route to the quarter-finals at the Rolex Shanghai Masters earlier this month and set the wheels in motion for another run this week by overcoming Arnaldi in two hours and 31 minutes.
The No. 54 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will play fifth seed Ugo Humbert in the second round.
The Frenchman Humbert clawed past Swiss qualifier Jerome Kym 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-5 in two hours and 33 minutes. Humbert fired 13 aces and saved the one break point he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats to clinch a personal-best 34th win of the season. Humbert has enjoyed an impressive year, winning titles in Marseille and Dubai.
Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard also advanced, beating James Duckworth 7-6(4), 6-3. The 21-year-old will next meet Felix Auger-Aliassime or Sebastian Baez.
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