Fils Threat: Jódar and Fritz are trembling for their debut in Tokyo

The draw of the ATP 500 in Tokyo could hide a real bomb for the first round. Arthur Fils, currently ranked in the Top 10 as the new world number 9, is forced to play the qualifying round due to an administrative issue with his entry and could end up facing Rafael Jódar or Taylor Fritz if he manages to reach the main draw.

The Frenchman has already overcome his first hurdle after coming back against Martin Damm 2-6, 6-1, and 6-1. Now he must win one more match against the winner of the clash between Lorenzo Sonego and Kamil Majchrzak to secure one of the four tickets available for the final draw.

A possible high-profile debut for Jódar or Fritz in Tokyo

And that’s where the problem begins. Once qualified, Fils could face Fritz, Jódar, Etcheverry, or Van Assche in the first round, the four players who are matched up with a qualifier in the opening match. That is, two of the top seeds could end up immediately facing a player whose ranking in no way corresponds to that of a player coming from qualifying. It would be interesting to see two Top 10 players face off in the first round of an ATP tournament.

The situation is even more striking in Jódar's case. The Spaniard has already defeated Fils this season both in Washington and later in the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Montreal, so another clash would add even more intrigue to the debut in Tokyo.

In addition to Fils, names like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Rinky Hijikata, Jaume Munar, Aleksandar Kovacevic, and the winner of the match between Daniel Vallejo and Taro Daniel are fighting for those four spots. A qualifying round that is uncharacteristic for a qualifying round and has the potential to completely disrupt the main draw. All these players will be praying that none of them draw Fils in their debut.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Amenaza Fils: Jódar y Fritz tiemblan por su debut en Tokio