French Open 2021: 16-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils surprises in qualification
Arthur Fils, a 16-year-old Frenchman, beat Bernard Tomic in the first round of the qualifying tournament for the French Open. It wasn't the only surprise on the first day of the application games for a place in the main draw.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
May 25, 2021, 09:11 am
The policy of the French Tennis Federation, with two exceptions (one for the main field goes to Australia, one for the qualification to Canada), to award wild cards only to local players, can be viewed critically. On the other hand, young professionals who would otherwise have remained hidden from the tennis world for a few years also come into play. Like Arthur Fils, 16 years old, who defeated Bernard Tomic 6: 7 (5), 7: 6 (3) and 6: 3 on the first day of qualifying for the main draw in Roland Garros. Fils is in the ATP world rankings on position 1,034, in the ITF junior ranking he is in 18th place. Fils plays in round two against the Australian Marc Polmans, which is also a solvable task on clay.
The victory of the young local hero wasn't the only surprise on Monday. Ilya Ivashka, who started the qualifying tournament in first place, was kicked out against Andrey Kuznetsov. And veteran Viktor Troicki made a remarkable comeback against the 13th placed Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild: Troicki won with 0: 6, 7: 6 (6) and 7: 6 (5).
From a German-speaking perspective, there are some interesting games on Tuesday: Cedric-Marcel Stebe will meet the young American Jenson Brooksby, who was able to draw attention to himself on the Challenger tour over the past few weeks. And Austria's number two, Dennis Novak, opened his attack on a peloton ticket against the Spaniard Mario Vilella Martinez.