French tennis star Arthur Fils under no pressure to keep up with ‘immense’ Carlos Alcaraz
World No 20 Fils, who is playing in this week’s Hong Kong Open, says he doesn’t feel under any pressure to emulate the grand slam winner
One of tennis’s emerging stars, Arthur Fils, said he felt “no pressure” to keep pace with his fellow youngster, the four-times grand slam winner Carlos Alcaraz.
During a breakthrough 2024, the 20-year-old Fils won two ATP 500 titles and climbed to world No 20. Alcaraz, meanwhile, who is one year Fils’ senior, at 21, won the French Open and Wimbledon for his third and fourth major titles.
Seeded No 4 in this week’s Bank of China Hong Kong Open, Frenchman Fils will meet either Zizou Bergs of Belgium or a qualifier in the last-16, on Wednesday or Thursday. His best grand slam performance came at this year’s Wimbledon, where he reached round four.
“There is no pressure [to emulate Alcaraz], he is an immense champion and it’s amazing what he’s doing, winning four slams already is crazy,” Fils told the Post. “If I win a slam in two years, it would be unbelievable, but if I win a slam in 10 years, it would be unbelievable, too. I trust in the process and if I finish [my career] with some great trophies, I will be happy whether they come when I’m 20 or 35.”
A Billie-Jean King quote, “pressure is a privilege”, adorns a wall inside the US Open’s Arthur Ashe Stadium. And Fils cited the sentiment to reflect how he treated increasing external expectation, and his task of following in the footsteps of notable French players, including Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“If there is no pressure, it means you can’t do anything,” Fils said. “If there is pressure, it means there is a chance for you to do something and people believe in you, it is better this way.”
