Fils defies physical struggles, saves championship point for Tokyo crown

Never count out Arthur Fils at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.

The #NextGenATP Frenchman on Tuesday added a dramatic victory against Ugo Humbert to his lung-busting campaign at the ATP 500 to clinch the title in Tokyo. Fils saved a championship point in the second-set tie-break before prevailing 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-3 to earn his third tour-level crown.

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“Honestly I don’t know [how I turned it around],” said Fils, who appeared to struggle with an injury to his left leg for much of the second set. “After 5-all in the first, I was feeling dead on the court. He was playing unbelievable shots. It was a very tight first set. I got a lot of break points and didn’t break. He’s such a great champion and it was very tough.

“I tried my best into the second set and then I saved one match point. Everything in tennis can turn in only one second, and it turned. So I’m very happy, but I could have lost today.”

Fils defeated four Top 20 opponents during his Tokyo run: Top seed Taylor Fritz, defending champion Ben Shelton, Holger Rune and Humbert. Three of those four wins came in three sets, while his semi-final triumph against Rune was settled in a pair of hard-fought tie-break sets. It was his second ATP 500 crown following his triumph in Hamburg in July,

“I’m very happy about the tennis I’m producing,” said Fils. “I’m working a lot and trying to build my tennis. I think now it’s better, from Hamburg to here. I still have to improve but it’s cool.”

Fils’ victory against Humbert was all the more extraordinary considering his physical struggles. He seemed to be physically fading from the championship match when he fell to 3-4, 0/40 on serve in the second set, but the 20-year-old somehow found a way to hold serve and force a tie-break.

Then came one of the highlights of the three-hour, five-minute encounter. Fils fended off the championship point at 5/6 with a stunning backhand pass, the first of three straight points he won to level the match at one-set-all.

“Honestly, I think it’s the best backhand I hit all week,” said Fils of his last-gasp passing shot. “It was crazy. I tried my best and it went perfectly.”

Fils, chasing his first Lexus ATP Head2Head victory in four attempts against Humbert, carried that momentum into the decider. He claimed a crucial break in the eighth game before sending an ace down the T to become the second-youngest champion in Tokyo tournament history.

With his movement around the court laboured at times, Fils’ commanding serving display was crucial to his victory. He won 80 per cent (44/55) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and did not face a break point in the deciding set.

After his latest title triumph, Fils extended his lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. The Frenchman is now 977 points clear of second-placed Alex Michelsen.

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