He was already the youngest French finalist in an ATP tournament since Richard Gasquet in 2004, the year of his birth. But Arthur Fils did even better than “Richie”, this Saturday in Lyon. He won the event, beating Francisco Cerundolo, 28th in the world (6-3, 7-5) in the final. The 112th in the world definitely appreciates this Argentine family, since he had dominated Juan Manuel (21), younger brother of Francisco (24), on May 10 in the first round of the Rome tournament.
Son will tumble into the Top 100 in force when attacking Roland-Garros, where it will be all the more expected that the current tricolor tennis bathes in an atmosphere worthy of an All Saints Day in the rain.
The succession is finally coming
Holder of a wild card, the young player (who will turn 19 on June 12) will be opposed in the first round to the unpredictable Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. If successful, he could then meet his compatriot Luca Van Assche, another French promise who had beaten him in the final of the junior tournament in 2021.
While the Monfils-Gasquet generation is spitting out its last fires, since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon have already put away the rackets, another is waking up to the delight of French fans, who are tired of dusting off the images of the triumph of Yannick Noah in 1983 to vibrate a little Porte d’Auteuil. Of course, it is important not to ignite. But we really want it…