By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday July 20, 2024
Arthur Fils rocked past Sebastian Baez on Saturday in Hamburg to reach his biggest career final.
Photo Source: TTV
20-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils continues to push his way up the ATP rankings. Playing at a career-high ranking of 28 after reaching the Wimbledon round of 16 last week, Fils swiftly dispatched Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-2 to reach his first ATP 500 final at Hamburg.
Fils improves to 23-17 on the season and becomes the sixth Hamburg finalist under the age of 21 this century after Carlos Alcaraz, Roger Federer, Richard Gasquet, Lorenzo Musetti, and Rafael Nadal.
That statistic comes as news to Fils.
"I didn't know that," Fils said, according to Nicholas Albek of Inside Sport. "But that's very good. I am really happy to be in the final. Of course... Rafa and Roger are legends, so it's nice to be close to them, let's say."
Fils needed just 68 minutes to claim the pair’s first meeting as he reached his third ATP final and first of the season. He dropped just 12 points on serve and saved the only break point he faced, and took the play to Baez from start to finish.
“It was very hot, so [the court played] very fast and my serve was working pretty well, so it helped me a lot today – I don’t know if tomorrow will be this hot, but I hope it will be,” Fils said.
With his brother and mom in attendance after flying in from France, Fils was feeling the positive energy on the red clay in Hamburg. It’s a trend that started last year when he defeated Casper Ruud to reach the semifinals. With his win today Fils improves to 7-1 lifetime in Hamburg.
Zverev v Fils Final is Set
Fils, up to 23 in the ATP live rankings with today’s win, will face defending champion Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.
Zverev eased past Pedro Martinez behind 32 winners, 6-2, 6-4, stretching his Hamburg winning streak to improve to 16-5 lifetime in Hamburg.
“I think [Arthur] is a very talented player," Fils said, according to Nicholas Albek of Inside Sport. "Extremely aggressive, I think. Very, very young, so very wild still. But, he has the talent to be one of the best players in the world and he has the potential to be one of the best players in the world and it's up to him whether he can realise that potential.”
The Frenchman lost to Zverev in the semifinals last year, and also dropped a three-setter to Zverev on the Halle grass in June.