Mentally, Fils has improved: "A year ago, I would have taken 6-0 in the fourth".

© AFP

Elio Valotto

le 07/07/2024 à 13h08

1 min to read

Fils Safiullin Wimbledon

Arthur Fils is part of the French party at Wimbledon, where three French players have reached the last 16.

At 20, the Lyonnais is reassuring himself. After a good tournament in Halle, where he even took a set from Zverev before losing, he reached the last 16 on Saturday.

After a solid first round, he pulled off one of the feats of the first week by upsetting Hubert Hurkacz (7-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-6 ab.). Taking advantage of the Pole's withdrawal when he had already taken the lead, the Frenchman struggled in the third round, but finally prevailed.

Faced with Roman Safiullin, who had reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon last year, Fils went through all kinds of emotions. Completely missing his third set, he came close to going out before recovering to claim his first career Round of 16 (4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 3h17).

The happy Frenchman explained that he was above all satisfied with his mental resilience: "Yes, I was really down mentally at the end of the third set and, frankly, a year ago, I would have taken 6-0 in the fourth. I was complaining a bit about the conditions.

But at the start of the fourth, I said to myself: 'Now, shut your mouth, stop complaining and you'll see at the end if you've won. Don't talk anymore. That's one of the reasons I won. Because afterwards, I was in it, very focused."