Arthur Fils survives ‘rough’ Hong Kong Open conditions to set up all-French quarter-final
Young star advances in straight sets, while compatriot Muller emerges on top following three-and-a-half-hour epic
Five years after watching in awe as fully fledged professional Alexandre Muller practised at the French National Training Centre, young star Arthur Fils will aim to down his compatriot in the quarter-finals of the Bank of China Hong Kong Open.
The 20-year-old Fils, who is the youngest member of the world’s top 20, booked his last-eight spot with a hard-fought 7-6, 6-4 victory over Zizou Bergs of Belgium at a chilly Victoria Park Tennis Centre on Wednesday.
World No 67 Muller, 27, earlier needed six match points before prevailing 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 in a three-and-a-half-hour slugfest with 54th-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic.
Fils and Muller, who will meet on Friday, are the only two French players in the draw. The senior man won the pair’s only previous meeting, on clay at the 2024 Italian Open.
“We knew each other a little bit, when I was very young he was already practising at the French Federation [where Fils began training aged 15] and I watched him play a lot,” Fils said.
“There is no extra rivalry [because of shared nationality], it is a great atmosphere between us, we are good guys and good friends, he is great company,
