A break point was also a breaking point for Frances Tiafoe on Friday in Tokyo. At the end of a bruising game that featured multiple physical rallies, it was Arthur Fils who stood tall with a break and an imposing 6-3, 6-5 advantage.
Tiafoe, huffing and puffing after a double fault unceremoniously ended said game, was left wondering what he would have to do to gain the upper hand on the Frenchman.Before he could blink, Fils, now steaming ahead like a bullet train, served out the win, leaving a frustrated Tiafoe to smash his racquet into the court before the handshake after his 6-3, 7-5 loss.
Another spirited battle between the pair had gone Fils’ way, and the Frenchman, who won the Tokyo title in his last appearance, improved to 3-0 against Tiafoe as he set up a quarterfinal with Valentin Vacherot.
Vacherot battled past Stefanos Tsitsipas, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, on Friday.
Fils, now 7-0 in Tokyo after winning the title in 2024, has reached seven quarterfinals on hard courts so far this season. Was it his best performance of the season?
“I don’t know,” he said on court after improving to 34-11 on the season. “I don’t think so, but definitely it was a very, very good match. My level was very good from the start until the end.
“Very happy with the way I handled myself under pressure, because it was tough. He’s a great returner, so I had to really be focused, and I’m very happy I did it.”
Fils practiced with his good luck charm Goran Ivanisevic before the match, and his confidence showed as he raised his level whenever he needed to against Tiafoe, just as he did in August, when he defeated the American in the Cincinnati final in three sets for his first Masters 1000 title.
“Every time he warms up with me, I never lost yet. So, you know, it’s like kind of good confidence,” he said.
Still, it was not a walk in the park against Tiafoe, who entered the clash at a career-high ranking of No. 8 and chasing points to help him move up in the Race to Turin standings.
“I think I started pretty strong. But, you know, in Cincy I started strong and then he reacted very well,” Fils said. “I knew, in the second set, he was going to play even better. So I’m very happy with the way I stayed focused.
“And then, even though I lost the long rally at 5-all, I knew it was not easy for him. I was still feeling great, so that was good.”
Fils, who signed up late for the event and was thus forced to play qualifying, has now won nine consecutive matches against Americans. He improves to 5-5 against the Top 10 on the season.
In other action on Friday, Jaume Munar set up a quarterfinal clash with Kyrian Jacquet by defeating Jaime Faria, 6-1, 6-1. Jacquet, playing the best tennis of his life after reaching the Hangzhou semis last week and cracking the Top 100 on Monday, defeated Luciano Darderi, 6-3, 7-6(5).
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