Arthur Fils is starting to build a streak of his own after reaching the Madrid Open quarterfinals.
Fils won the Barcelona Open, continuing his impressive form after returning to the ATP Tour from a back injury that kept him out of action for over six months.
Despite his recent results, Fils had never actually won a match at the Madrid Open before this year and had admitted that he finds the conditions more challenging in the Spanish capital.
After beating Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Fils has now won eight consecutive matches and he has now been asked if he could build a similar streak to world number one Jannik Sinner’s.
Arthur Fils claims it is ‘not possible’ to consider matching Jannik Sinner’s streak
Sinner won the Monte Carlo Masters and completed the Sunshine Double before reaching the Madrid Open quarterfinals this year, and has therefore built a 20-match winning streak.
After Fils beat Etcheverry 6-3, 6-4 he was asked if he thinks he could win as many matches in a row as Sinner.
The Frenchman responded by admitting that he cannot even consider it as a possibility right now.
“Don’t even mention it (smiles),” said Fils, as reported by L’Equipe. “For now, I’m just trying to win one more.
“Right now, for me, it’s not possible to even consider that. I think the most I’ve done in my career is maybe eight or nine. We’re at eight today, we’ll try to reach nine.”
Will Jannik Sinner win the French Open?
Fils’ best career winning streak is nine wins in a row, which he achieved on the Challenger Tour in 2023, but his current run is his best on the main tour.
At least one of Fils or Sinner’s streaks will come to an end at the Madrid Open this year, and they will play each other if they both reach the semifinals.
Arthur Fils says if he is worried that he may be playing too many matches ahead of the French Open
Fils played only two matches in an eight-month stint on the sidelines with a back injury, and since his return in February has played 26 matches.
The world number 25 was asked if he was concerned by playing too many matches ahead of his return to Grand Slam tennis at Roland Garros.
Fils suggested that this was not the case, as he made the specific decision not to play the week before Roland Garros, something Alexander Zverev has not done.
“After Rome, you still have a week to prepare for Roland-Garros, so it’s not a problem,” answered Fils. “You just have to avoid playing in Hamburg. For now, my back, my body, everything’s fine. We have to be careful, but everything’s fine.”
Is Arthur Fils a genuine threat to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
Fils will look to win his ninth consecutive match in his Madrid Open quarterfinal against Jiri Lehecka.
The head-to-head between Fils and Lehecka is currently level at 2-2, and they have already played twice this year.
Fils won their match at the Qatar Open, while Lehecka got revenge in their most recent match at the Miami Open.
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