A Frenchman will not succeed another Frenchman on the list of winners of the Auckland tournament. Arthur Fils had beaten Richard Gasquet, defending champion, earlier in the week but lost on Friday near the final. Against the Chilean from qualifying Alejandro Tabilo, Sébastien Grosjean’s protégé lost in two sets (6-2, 7-5) after a performance marked by a lot of unforced errors.
Dominated in a first act concluded in just 32 minutes, Fils launched the second on a much better basis, quickly breaking away with the score (he led 5-2). But the machine seized up at that point. Unhinged in his game, the Frenchman let Tabilo come back and then overtake him. The Chilean had all the difficulty in the world to conclude, Son dismissing three match points on three winning shots, but he finally managed to close the affair with a final forehand outside his rival.
The 82nd in the world will try to win his first title on the ATP circuit on Saturday in a final which promises to be very open. He will face Taro Daniel who for his part beat Ben Shelton (7-5, 7-6 [11]). Son will head to Melbourne where he will launch his Grand Slam season against Jiri Vesely. This will be, at 19, his first participation in the Australian Open.
