Andy Roddick thinks France have an ‘unbelievable’ player who is going to send the Roland Garros crowd crazy this year

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Andy Roddick is intrigued by the prospect of an exciting clay court season.

The WTA Tour commenced the clay court season with the Charleston Open, while the ATP Tour began the clay campaign with the Monte Carlo Masters.

Carlos Alcaraz returned to form by winning his first clay court Masters 1000 title after beating Lorenzo Musetti in three sets.

While the Spaniard who triumphed in Monaco, Roddick has identified another player who he thinks will have a strong clay court campaign.

Andy Roddick thinks Arthur Fils is set for a strong clay court season

The clay court offers some players who are strong on the surface a chance to make a big impression on the ATP Tour.

It is also a chance for competitors to continue their good form from the North American hard court swing, and one of the players that springs to mind is Arthur Fils.

The 20-year-old reached successive quarter-finals at Indian Wells and Miami, before reaching the last eight on the clay in Monte Carlo.

Andy Roddick is impressed with the consistency Fils has shown over the past month, and has backed the Frenchman to have a strong clay court season and thoroughly his home fans at Roland Garros.

“Arthur Fils. I think he was the second best player in Monte Carlo last week,” the former World number one said via his ‘Served’ podcast.

“He lost to Carlos in the quarters but he looked unbelievable. He is going to make some noise this clay court season and Paris is going to lose their minds for him.”

Arthur Fils is up and running at the Barcelona Open

Fils aims to continue his strong run and he did just that by winning his first match at the Barcelona Open.

He took on the experienced Pablo Carreño Busta, who was competing in front of a home crowd.

Not overwhelmed by the occasion, Fils won a tight first set tiebreak, before going on to secure a 7-6, 6-3 victory.

In the next round, Fils will take on another Spaniard in Pedro Martínez. The pair split their previous two meetings in 2024, and this promises to be an exciting encounter.