Arthur Fils was not entirely happy with his latest performance at the Madrid Open.
Fils won the Barcelona Open prior to the Madrid Open, where he has been looking to continue his impressive start to the 2026 season.
After surviving a nearly three hour opening match against Ignacio Buse, Fils had a much more comfortable win over Emilio Nava.
Despite beating Nava 7-6(2), 6-3, Fils admitted there is still something in particular he wants to improve.
Arthur Fils says he could have managed his service games better in his latest match
Fils won 81% of his points on first serve against Nava, and was broken just once by the American.
The Frenchman has only been broken in the five sets of the whole tournament he has played so far, but Fils did not appear too pleased about this when speaking to L’Equipe.
“That’s not great,” said Fils.
While Fils was happy with the serve itself, he admitted that he was disappointed by the way he was broken in the second set by Nava.
“I serve well, I serve very well,” said Fils. “But it’s the way I manage the games, sometimes, that isn’t… I could do better, let’s say.
“Today, I was leading 3-1, 40-15. I can manage it much better. In the end, I found myself down 3-2. It’s a shame. But overall, I’m serving quite well and I’m fairly happy with the progress we’re making in that area.”
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Arthur Fils reveals if he prefers playing in Barcelona or Madrid
Fils has won all seven matches he has played on clay so far this year, all of which have come in Spain.
However, when asked about the two clay court tournaments he has played, Fils stated that he preferred the conditions at the Barcelona Open, where he won his fourth ATP title.
“Barcelona. 100%. At sea level, I can really control the ball well, hit it as hard as I want without it going out,” explained Fils.
“Here, it’s different. I sometimes have to be calmer, not hit my forehand at full power, but that’s the way it is. It’s a different way of playing, I’m trying to get used to it, and I’m doing pretty well.”
Despite not being as comfortable with the conditions in Madrid, Fils has already achieved his best result at the tournament, having never won a match in the Spanish capital before this year.
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Fils’ next opponent is 25th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who he has never played on the main ATP Tour before.
If he is able to beat Etcheverry, then Fils will confirm his return to the top 20 of the ATP rankings.
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