Arthur Fils used his forehand to win his fourth ATP title at the Barcelona Open.
Fils beat Andrey Rublev in the Barcelona Open final to continue his impressive start to the 2026 season after being out of action for seven months due to a back injury.
The Frenchman is now up to sixth in the race to the ATP Finals, with Fils seen as a potential challenger to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
When reacting to his third ATP 500 title victory, Coco Gauff’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, has stated if he thinks Fils has a better forehand than Alcaraz and Sinner.
Brad Gilbert does not think Arthur Fils has a better forehand than Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
The topic of Fils’ forehand actually came up as a result of another former coach of a high-profile player in Mark Petchey.
Petchey has worked with Emma Raducanu on a temporary basis in a couple of spells over the past two years, and wanted to ask his followers a question about Fils.
The former British number one wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Is @ArthurFils FH the best in the men’s game right now?”
Petchey received many responses to this, including from the aforementioned Gilbert, who suggested that while Fils’ forehand is very strong, Sinner and Alcaraz still have the advantage.
Gilbert wrote, “It’s a very big fearhand but still taking Sin City and Escape from Alcaraz as best two fearhands in the game.”
Is Arthur Fils a genuine threat to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
Has Arthur Fils ever beaten either Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner?
Fils has been one of the best ATP players on tour so far in 2026, alongside Alcaraz and Sinner, but he is still yet to beat one of the top two players in men’s tennis right now.
The world number 25 has lost all three previous matches he has played against Alcaraz, who beat Fils heavily in the Qatar Open final in February.
It has been significantly longer since Fils last played Sinner, who beat him on the indoor hard courts of Montpellier in 2023.
| Arthur Fils Vs | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner |
| Head-to-Head | 3-0 Alcaraz | 1-0 Sinner |
| Most recent meeting | Alcaraz beat Fils, 6-2 6-1 (Qatar Open F 2026) | Sinner beat Fils, 7-5 6-2 (Montpellier SF 2023) |
Fils will be unable to play Alcaraz, who has withdrawn from the Madrid Open, in the coming weeks, but he could face Sinner in the Spanish capital.
However, for that to happen both Sinner and Fils would need to reach the semifinals in Madrid.
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