Arthur Fils qualified for the round of 16 of the Barcelona tournament by eliminating Daniel Altmaier in three sets. For his part, Stefanos Tsitipas won another victory, against Sebastian Ofner.
There were seven French people present in the first round of the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona, there will only be one in the round of 16: Arthur Fils. Seeded n°16 in the Catalan tournament and 36th player in the world, the 19-year-old Frenchman held his place by eliminating Daniel Altmaier (66th). Arthur Fils alternated between good and bad in this match, but he managed to win, supported by a noisy group of French supporters, with a score of 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 in 1h47. Fils, present Tuesday evening in Montjuic for the qualification of PSG to the detriment of FC Barcelona, started the match on the right end, breaking from the start on his second opportunity. He saved a break point in the next game and then held his serve perfectly, winning the first set with a shutout at 5-4.
In the process, he got a break point at the start of the second set, but missed it, and his game then completely fell apart. Fils was broken at 1-0 then the games went in favor of the German, while Fils seemed to lose interest in the match. The score turned out to be hefty: 6-1 for Altmaier in 30 minutes. But the Frenchman immediately regained his concentration at the start of the third set. Unlike the second set, it was he who broke as soon as he had the opportunity to lead 5-0. Hitting better and stronger, he played his tennis and won the last set 6-1, to the delight of his fans. Arthur Fils could let out a cry of joy on the match point. Here he is in the round of 16 and virtually 34th in the world, the best ranking of his career. But a big test awaits him on Thursday, against world No. 11 and Rafael Nadal’s slayer, Alex De Minaur.
And seven for Tsitsipas
Winner of the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 on Sunday, Stefanos Tsitsipas extended his series of victories (7) by defeating Sebastian Ofner for his entry into the running in Catalonia, where he reached the final last year, beaten by Carlos Alcaraz. The world No. 7 eliminated the No. 43 for the third time in three matches, with a score of 6-4, 7-5 in 1h37. Without being excellent, he was able to provide the essentials, like this second set which he almost lost. After a break on each side at the very start of the match, Tsitsipas once again took the Austrian’s serve at 3-3 and maintained his lead until the end to win the first set. In the second, he broke at 2-2 and perhaps thought he was heading for an easy victory, but he experienced a big gap, allowing Ofner to win three games in a row.
However, when serving to win the set at 5-3, the Austrian trembled and it was the beginning of the end for him, as he lost four games in a row, and therefore the match (5- 7). It is therefore Tsitsipas who will face the 72nd in the world Roberto Carballes Baena in the round of 16. The Spaniard created a surprise by eliminating the No. 10 seed, Lorenzo Musetti, with a score of 7-6, 6-4 in 2h16, after saving a first set point at 6-5.
2024-04-17 19:26:00
#Single #French #son #eighth #grade
