Frenchman Arthur Fils saved a championships match to beat his compatriot his compatriot Ugo Humbert 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 after 3 hours and 5 minutes in the final of the Japan Open in Tokyo. Fils has claimed the third title of his career and the second at ATP 500 level following his triumph in Hamburg.
Fils has beaten four top 20 players during this year’s edition of the Tokyo tournament. He beat top-seed Taylor Fritz, defending champion Ben Shelton and Humbert in three sets and Rune in two hard-fought sets.
Humbert earned the first break in the fifth game of the opening set after three deuces to take a 3-2 lead. Fils pulled back on serve to draw level to 3-3. Humbert saved three break points in the 11th game before breaking serve at 15 to close out the first set 7-5.
Fils went down 3-4 0-40 on serve in the second set and faced three break points, but the young French player held serve to force a tie-break. He saved a championship point at 5-6 in the second set tie-break with a backhand pass. It was the first of three consecutive points to level the match at one set-all. Fils broke Humbert to take a 5-3 lead earning a chance to serve for the match and served out the win on his first match point with an ace down the centre.
Fils won 80% of his first serve points and did not face a break point in the third set. The French player has extended his lead in the ATP Live Race to Jeddah, 977 points clear of US player Alex Michelsen. “I served the match point in the tie-break with a crazy backhand. It’s the best backhand I hit all week. It was the best one I hit during all week. I am just very happy with the way I dealt with the second set. I am very happy about the tennis I am producing. I am working a lot and trying to build my tennis. I think now it’s better from Hamburg to here. I think I have to improve, but it’s cool”, said Fils.
