Arthur Fils has long made his mark on the 2023 ATP Tour season. Yet his Hamburg European Open quarter-final win against Casper Ruud on Friday felt like a further significant leap for the #NextGenATP Frenchman.
Fils delivered a stunning display for a 6-0, 6-4 victory against the World No. 4 Ruud at the clay-court ATP 500, his first win against a Top 20 opponent. The 19-year-old Fils was in particularly devastating form on his forehand in Germany, striking with the sort of power and accuracy off that wing that Ruud himself has become renowned for.
“I’m really happy about it. Of course, it was a tough match,” said Fils in his on-court interview. “I had good tactics with my coach before the match. We talked before the match, that I have to believe I can win. Of course, I’m coming on court, I want to win, so I tried to play my game and I played my best today, so I’m happy about it.”
Fils made a lightning-fast start to his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with the Norwegian, unloading on his forehand at every opportunity and converting three of his six break points to charge to the opening set. Ruud settled into his groove in a closely fought second set, but Fils crushed four huge forehand winners to break to love in the 10th game and seal a famous 78-minute triumph in which he outhit Ruud by 35 winners (including 25 off his forehand) to six.
“I knew that he has a really good forehand, and when he uses his forehand during the point, it’s tough," said Fils. "He makes you run a lot. My goal was to play a lot of forehands and play a lot on his backhand, and I did it really well today.”
Fils is now 4-0 in tour-level quarter-finals. His run in Hamburg marks the first time he has reached a semi-final outside of France, while it is also his maiden last-four appearance at ATP 500 level. The Frenchman, who lifted his maiden ATP Tour title in Lyon in May, is fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race as he seeks to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals for the first time.
Fils' semi-final opponent will be Alexander Zverev, after the home favourite denied Fils’ fellow #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche from reaching his maiden tour-level semi-final. The fourth-seeded Zverev prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to reach the semi-finals in Hamburg for the third time in six appearances.
Zverev held his nerve against Van Assche after the 19-year-old had converted his only break point of the match en route to a 4-1 lead in the second set. The 26-year-old German, chasing his first title since his triumph at the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals, reeled off five games in a row to seal victory to the delight of his home fans.
A two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion, Zverev has now risen two spots to tenth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as a result of his Hamburg run. The 19-time tour-level titlist is seeking to qualify for the prestigious season finale for the sixth time.
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In the bottom half of the draw, Lorenzo Musetti’s Hamburg title defence was ended at the quarter-final stage by the rock-solid Laslo Djere. The No. 57-ranked Serbian overcame Musetti 7-5, 6-3 for his first Top 20 victory since he defeated Ruud in Auckland in the opening week of the 2023 season.
Zhang Zhizhen will be Djere’s next opponent, after the 26-year-old reached his maiden ATP Tour semi-final with a 6-4, 6.4 triumph against home favourite Daniel Altmaier. Zhang has dropped just one set across his first three matches on his second Hamburg appearance, a run which has propelled the 26-year-old 27 spots to No. 52 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, level with his career high in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Should he defeat Djere in Saturday’s semi-finals in northern Germany, Zhang is set to rise further still to become the first Chinese player to break the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
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