Son of Nadal exudes confidence: "I'm not going to stop for a mere victory"

The French crowd was nervous this week at the ATP in Montpellier. The local favorite, Arthur Fils, made his official comeback after seven months away. There was a fear of seeing him fall, but the outcome could not have been more positive.

Besides winning the match, probably an objective he didn't even consider, we saw the Frenchman fighting, clinging to the match, showing grit, and occasionally, a good level of tennis. In other words, much better than what a typical return would have been, where lack of rhythm leaves you sidelined when the match gets tense and the clock passes two hours. But Arthur Fils did things very well, hence ending up dominating his clash against Valentin Royer with a score of 7-6, 6-7, and 6-2. He even finished stronger than his opponent!

"It has definitely been a long and hard process, both for me and my team," recalls the athlete from Bondoufle. "Everyone has put in their effort, from the physiotherapist to the fitness coach, even my father, Philippe, who handled multiple tasks behind all of this. It has been many days of hard work, perhaps people do not necessarily know or realize. In the end, the audience only remembers what they see on the court when we win or lose," he reflects after his absence.

It was seven long months of absence, doubts, questions, reading things in the press that were not true. It was even said that his physical problems were so severe that his career was in jeopardy, that he would never be the same again, that he was doomed. No, definitely, it must not have been easy days for Fils, but that also motivated him. That's why he exercised patience not to make his return prematurely, which would have been a serious mistake. This week, in a tournament as familiar as Montpellier, he suited up again on his own terms.

"I particularly remember the feelings I had in the second set, where I started to fight a bit," he analyzes in the aforementioned victory over Royer. "At that moment, I reminded myself that, whatever happened, the performance had already been positive. In the end, I found myself in a third set competing against an opponent who is a great player. It was my comeback match, I hadn't played for eight months, so it means I'm playing well. I am relaxed, I haven't forgotten how to play tennis, I know I can maintain this level for four, five, or six hours... although this time, I wasn't sure how long my body would hold up," Fils adds.

Arthur Fils, confident in his return in Montpellier

Now that he has proven he is physically ready to compete – as long as his body hasn't suffered any setbacks the next morning – it's time to consider Fils as we always did, occupying one of those more advantageous positions in leading the next generation. Winning the title in Montpellier is probably an unrealistic goal at this time, but from more unexpected origins, we have ended up witnessing superior feats.

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"I won't stop for just one victory, I have never stopped just because I won a match, so this won't change in my career," declared Arthur when asked about his aspirations this week. With humility, of course, but more driven than ever until someone steps in to slow him down. Tonight we will see him again on the court, facing another Frenchman, Ugo Blanchet. We will have to closely watch that match.

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