#NextGenATP Fils flies past Baez to Hamburg championship match
In one of the biggest matches of his young career and with his family in town, Arthur Fils rose to the occasion on Saturday at the Hamburg Open.
The #NextGenATP Frenchman delivered a stunning display of baseline hitting in stiflingly hot conditions to down third seed Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-2. With his 67-minute win on the German clay, the 20-year-old Fils advanced to his first ATP 500 championship match.
“I played once or twice better than that, but of course it was great tennis on my part today,” said Fils in his post-match interview. “It was very hot, so it was very fast and my serve was working pretty well. That helped me a lot today and I don’t know if tomorrow it will be that hot, but I hope so.”
Fils converted four of seven break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to a dominant victory in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Baez. The current leader in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, Fils was competing in the Hamburg semi-finals for the second straight year and he could face the man he lost to in 2023, Alexander Zverev, in Sunday’s final. The German top seed and defending champion plays Pedro Martinez in the second semi-final of the day.
Fils like a great day to be Arthur 😉😎🔥@ArthurFils1 leaps into the finals after defeating Baez 6-2 6-2 @hamburgopenatp | #HamburgOpenATP500 pic.twitter.com/2mxH4Az3kO
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 20, 2024
Regardless of who is on the other side of the net on Sunday, Fils can rely on strong support from his mum and brother, who flew from France to support him for the match against Baez.
“My brother has been texting me since the start of the week saying, ‘I want to come, I want to come,’” explained Fils. “I said, ‘OK, if I make the semis, you can come, because it is Saturday, and you don’t have anything to do.’
“They took the flight this morning and arrived at 12, and they are leaving tomorrow after the final. So now it’s pretty nice to see my brother and my mum here in the stands. Of course I am missing my sister, but she is on vacation and having a good time.”
Fils has risen five spots to No. 23 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his run in Hamburg so far. Should he win his second ATP Tour crown on Sunday, he will rise to a career-high No. 20 in Monday’s edition of the PIF ATP Rankings.
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