Fils on Ivan Cinkus, his new coach since splitting with Grosjean: "If he wants to tell me I'm bad, he'll tell me, and he'll be right."

Arthur Fils reached the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 last week, narrowly losing to Daniil Medvedev in a third-set tie-break.

At 20 years old, he also became the new French No. 1 this Monday, a status he will have to uphold in Miami this week. After officially ending his collaboration with Sébastien Grosjean yesterday, Fils is now accompanied by Ivan Cinkus, who serves as his new coach.

A choice he had explained to our colleagues at RMC Sport last January in Melbourne, when Cinkus joined the team of the world No. 18:

"It's a different mentality. He doesn't beat around the bush when saying something. It's very straightforward, and that's great.

If he wants to tell me I'm bad or that I'm playing poorly, he'll tell me, and he'll be right. Things need to be direct; otherwise, you waste time. It's better when it's straightforward; it's simpler."