Arthur Fils demonstrated his top-seed credentials at this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM on Wednesday when he dispatched Flavio Cobolli 4-1, 4-2, 4-2 in 59 minutes.
The Frenchman came out firing his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with the Italian, outmanoeuvring Cobolli with his weight and depth of shot to improve to 2-0 in Green Group play. Fils undertook the ‘SIU’ celebration, associated with football star Cristiano Ronaldo, following his win.
“I played very nice today,” said Fils. “I served very good, and I was moving well on the court, so I am very happy about it. Tomorrow I have a good match against a great opponent. He already beat me once this year, so let’s see what I can do.”
A very high-level performance 👏
Arthur Fils puts on a show @nextgenfinals 📈#PerformanceRating combines #InAttack, #ConversionScore, #StealScore, and #ShotQuality to measure a player’s performance over the course of a match#TennisInsights | @atptour |@nextgenfinals pic.twitter.com/YeQDSHsxNY
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) November 29, 2023
Fils, who defeated Luca Nardi in five sets in his opening match, will meet Dominic Stricker in his final round-robin clash. Stricker and Cobolli both hold 1-1 records going into their final matches. Italian Cobolli faces countryman Nardi, who is 0-2, on Thursday.
Fils is aiming to become the sixth champion at the 21-and-under event, joining Top 10 stars Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas
Earlier this year the 19-year-old Fils lifted his maiden tour-level title in Lyon, while he reached the title match in Antwerp. He is playing at a career-high No. 36 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings this week.