ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

October 29, 2024

Arthur Fils

Press Conference

A. FILS/M. Cilic

7-6, 6-4

(In French.)

THE MODERATOR: Congrats, Arthur. Beautiful win. Could you explain what happened during the match?

ARTHUR FILS: It was quite a complex match against a tough opponent. I was a bit tense at first.

It was hard for me to win the first set and also the second set, but I'm glad that I won it. Ultimately I managed to go for my shots in the crucial moments, so it was good.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Congrats. You were expecting so much from this first win. What does it feel like?

ARTHUR FILS: I'm delighted. I'm also relieved. I hadn't won a match in Paris for two years. Actually, I never won a single match in Paris, so I'm very glad to have won. It was not easy. It was tough, but I managed to get out and win and to reach the second round.

Q. Cilic is not the Big Four, but he's a great player. Did you watch him play? Do you have memories from watching him on TV before you played him?

ARTHUR FILS: He's a great champion. He won a Grand Slam. He was in the top 10 for quite some time. He plays very well, and I could see it today. Every time he would hit the ball, he would put me in danger.

So I had to find the right tactic. I had to vary my shots. I had to make him move around. But every time he would hit the ball on the serve or on the return, he was good.

But I was expecting the match to be tough. I managed the tiebreak quite well. It was 5-1, then 5-All, but I'm glad I managed to get the top of that.

Q. This weekend, before the beginning of the tournament, you said that you were hoping to have a great atmosphere, to live that. Here it was that people were chanting your name. How was the experience for you?

ARTHUR FILS: When you play at 11:00 in the morning, you know that the stadium won't be full. It's not as if you're playing at 7:00 in the evening. But all those that were in attendance were really supporting me, and I hope that tomorrow it will be even better and that there will be more people in attendance. But this is going to be good, for sure.

Q. On the crucial moments, you're broken at 6-5, there is also a tiebreak. How do you manage to up your game at crucial moments? Do you work a lot on this for these specific moments?

ARTHUR FILS: Well, you know, when you're in practice sessions, it's hard to prepare for these crucial moments, because there is always a very specific atmosphere. You're always tense. But you're never tense when you're practicing.

Throughout the season, I learned how to manage this during my matches. Today I nearly managed this well. There were some moments where I had a letdown, but this is part and parcel of the match play.

At 6-5, I hit my ace, and at 4-3, 30-All, I hit two aces, and I had two first-serve wins, and that is what is important.