At the Japan Open in Tokyo, Arthur Fils won a tight contest against his countryman Ugo Humbert in the all-French final of the Kinoshita Group sponsored ATP 500 event. The 20-year old who represents the future of French tennis, defeated his 26-year-old rival for the first time in his burgeoning career, 5-7 7-6(6) 6-3 to claim his second title at this level, despite carrying an ankle injury.
He could [have won] in two, I could win in two, he could win in three. It was a really close match Carlos Alcaraz
It was also the first time that Humbert was beaten in a final having won all his previous six appearances in a title match who was hoping to add to his two other level 500 titles.
“After 5-5 in the first set, I was feeling I was going to be dead on the court. He was playing unbelievable shots … I could have lost today,” Fils said in his post-match interview.
“Everything in tennis can turn in only one second, and it turned,” Fils added.
And Humber no doubt reflected the pride of a nation when he told the new Tokyo champion: “I am super happy, super proud of you,”
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with the China Open trophy
(Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile in Beijing Carlos Alcaraz produced one of his best performances to defeat the world No1 and defending champion, Jannik Sinner for the China Open title, the other level 500 event played in the lead up to the penultimate Masters event being played in Shanghai which started last Tuesday.
And with his 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(3) victory Alcaraz becomes the first player to win an ATP 500 title on all three surfaces, hard, clay and grass.
And it was a hard-earned victory in what has been described as the best match of the season with the Spaniard recovering from 0-3 in the deciding tiebreak to clinch the title by winning the next seven consecutive points after three hours and 21-minutes of nerve-clenching play which made it the longest match in the event’s history.
“He could [have won] in two, I could win in two, he could win in three. It was a really close match,” Alcaraz admitted.
“The whole week I’ve been playing great tennis… I feel great on court, I feel great off the court as well with my team,” Alcaraz continued. “It’s really important to feel like you are in a good mood all the time off the court, just try to show good tennis and be calm on the court. I couldn’t ask for a better week here in Beijing and I will try to keep going.”
The rivalry is certainly building up for a great end-of-season climax.
Off court the heavy calendar is becoming a major topic of discussion with Novak Djokovic leading the charge for change and more consideration for players, especially those in the lower rankings.
His Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) has allegedly instructed lawyers to look into the matter with a view to forcing the ATP to take some of the pressure off players by reducing the number of events they are expected to play and giving them some time off to get their breath back between tournaments.
Unfortunately, the PTPA is not recognized by the various tennis authorities so it will be interesting to see how this develops but some change on this front will help to ease the number of injuries which seem to be very prevalent amongst players these days.
