Fils thought he was done against Zverev: "In the third set, I thought it was over"

Arthur Fils delivered an outstanding performance in the Round of 16 at the Miami Masters 1000. Trailing one set to love against world No. 2 Alexander Zverev, the 20-year-old Frenchman—who received treatment for a back issue before starting the second set—ultimately turned the match around (3-6, 6-3, 6-4).

With this victory, the Frenchman is now virtually in the ATP top 15 and will face Jakub Mensik this Thursday, aiming to reach his first-ever Masters 1000 semifinal.

Just days after making his maiden quarterfinal appearance in this tournament category against Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells, Fils spoke at a press conference following his win over the German. He credited his third-set tiebreak loss to the Russian as a learning experience, particularly in managing his nerves on court.

"In the third set, I thought it was over. I was down 3-1, and he was serving really well. But I told myself, ‘Don’t get frustrated, try to make him play as much as possible and fight. If you can break, that’s great.’ And that’s exactly what happened."

"Medvedev and Zverev are different players, but they still have similarities. Against these kinds of players, if I play at their rhythm, they’ll probably be better than me because, in those situations, they perform extremely well. So I had to mix things up as much as possible."

"At Indian Wells, I had to vary my game a lot, and today, maybe a little less. But what helped me after that loss in Indian Wells was my emotional control because I was too nervous there."

"I wasted a lot of energy pumping myself up. Today, I was much calmer on the court. I felt like I still had energy, I felt good out there," Fils said in the press conference after his win.