Paris Masters: Home Stars Fils, Mpetshi Perricard Shine Bright

Arthur Fils
Arthur Fils (photo: ATP Tour video)

PARIS/WASHINGTON, October 29, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)

Arthur Fils and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard have risen to become two of the brightest stars of French tennis this season. Fils has been successful on court by combining grace with energy, while Mpetshi Perricard has molded into a champion through brute strength with his powerful serves.

So, what better time than this week at the Rolex Paris Masters in Bercy for each of these young Frenchmen to take command of Court Central, the biggest stage at Accor Arena, and raise the level of their tennis and to triumph over their opponents.

First, the 20-year-old Fils, ranked 20th, became the youngest home star to garner a main-draw win at the ATP Masters 1000 event since Richard Gasquet in 2006. He defeated 2016 semifinalist Marin Cilic of Croatia, 7-6 (5), 6-4, in an hour and 34 minutes to open Court Central play Tuesday afternoon.

With his 24th hard-court win of the season secured, Fils advanced to the second round against No. 42 Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, who upset 16th seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, 6-4, 6-2, in back of nine service aces during their 76-minute match.

Then, 31st-ranked wild card Mpetshi Perricard, who two days ago won the ATP 500 Swiss Open title in Basel for his second ATP Tour crown of the season, rallied to take out World No. 17 Frances Tiafoe of the United States, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-3, in two hours and a minute for his sixth straight win and first at the Masters 1000 level.

The victory moved Mpetshi Perricard into the second round against No. 21 Karen Khachanov of Russia, who defeated 71st-ranked Australian lucky loser Christopher O’Connell, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6).

Fils regrouped from a break down at 5-6 in the first set to win it in a tiebreaker, then hit 11 of his 17 winners in the second set to beat Cilic for his 36th win of the season, most of any French players. It’s the first time in three tries that native of Bondoufle, France has escaped the first round in Paris after a pair of opening-round setbacks the last two years.

“It was quite a complex match against a tough opponent. I was a bit tense at first,” Fils said during his post-match news conference, translated from French. “It was hard for me to win the first set and also the second set, but I’m glad that I won it. Ultimately, I managed to go for my shots in the crucial moments, so it was good.”

Fils dropped only three points on his first serve and broke Cilic three times in three opportunities. He outpointed his opponent 68-59.

“I’m delighted. I’m also relieved,” admitted Fils, who is in first place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. “I hadn’t won a match in Paris for two years. Actually, I never won a single match in Paris, so I’m very glad to have won. It was not easy. It was tough, but I managed to get out and win and to reach the second round.”

While Fils provided French fans with an enjoyable outcome in Tuesday’s opening match on Court Central, Mpetshi Perricard really gave them something to cheer about in the next match. The 6-foot-8, 21-year-old from Lyon fired 28 aces and slugged 49 overall winners that helped to overcome 53 unforced errors against Tiafoe, who countered with 10 aces and 26 winners. Mpetshi Perricard, whose average first-serve speed against Tiafoe clocked at 221 kilometers per hour (137 miles per hour), now has amassed 512 aces on the season.

Mepetshi Perricard was fearless when it counted most. He broke the 14th seed Tiafoe in the sixth game of the decisive set to go ahead 4-2; won 92 percent of his first-serve points, and saved both break points he faced from Tiafoe. The American outpointed Mpetshi Perricard 99-98, but it didn’t prevent the Frenchman from earning his third Top 20 triumph in the past week. During his six-match winning streak, Mpetshi Perricard has not dropped his serve.

“It means a lot to me [to win] in front of the French people,” Mpetshi Perricard said in a post-match interview with ATP Media. “Very enjoyable. It was an amazing match for me. I did some good things — some bad things at times — but the most important was the win.”

Gasquet bids adieu to Bercy

No. 65 Zizou Bergs of Belgium, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser, defeated 2007 semifinalist Richard Gasquet of France, 6-3, 6-4, in an hour and 20 minutes on Court Central. It was their first meeting. Bergs hit eight aces and struck 27 overall winners en route to just his second career Masters 1000 victory.

The 133rd-ranked Frenchman, who was making his 17th and final appearance at Bercy, previously  announced his plans to retire after Roland-Garros next year. He finished his last Court Central match with 14 winners, made 15 unforced errors and was unable to convert any of his five break-point chances.

“You feel a lot of emotion,” Gasquet said in his post-match news conference, translated from French. “It’s not the last tournament fortunately, but also the court surface was quite fast. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed, I have to admit.

“I didn’t always play well. I was a bit tense. He had two matches under his belt, so he managed to get the upper hand quickly. I didn’t get the break points, but I can’t say what I feel. I have always played tennis all my life. So delivering such a speech at the end, you know, it’s a bit strange.

“But that’s life. It has to happen one day. I tried to push it back as much as possible, but it had to happen one day.”

With his win over Gasquet, Bergs became the first Belgian since David Goffin in 2017 to win a Paris main draw match. Meanwhile, Gasquet’s 143 Masters 1000 wins is the most among French players.

Cerundolo earns 100th ATP Tour win

Argentine Francisco Cerundolo upset World No. 7 Andrey Rublev of Russia , 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), to reach the third round in Paris for the second straight year. The 29th-ranked Cerundolo rallied from a break deficit in both sets and improved to 3-1 lifetime against the sixth seed Rublev. He overcame 51 unforced errors to hit 35 winners. Cerundolo outpointed Rublev 108-103.

In the third round, Cerundolo will face World No. 11 and 10th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who defeated No. 22 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile, 6-3, 6-4.

Around the Rolex Paris Masters

World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain advanced to the third round following his 7-5, 6-1 victory over No. 37 Nicolas Jarry of Chile on Court Central Tuesday evening.

The second seed Alcaraz, the highest remaining seed following the withdrawal of No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner due to illness, hit 14 winners — including nine aces — and converted four of five break points. He outpointed Jarry 67-51 en route to his third win in four meetings against the Chilean, and it improved his 2024 win-loss record to 52-10 (16-4 in Masters 1000 play).

“I think I played really good tennis [in the first set], but at the end it was complicated,”Alcaraz said, quoted by the ATP Tour website. “I’m just really happy to get through the opening set, it was really important for me to come into the second with more confidence. I [need] time to get used to the speed of the court.

“It’s been two years since I have won a match here in Paris-Bercy, so everytime that I keep going is a gift for me.”

Next, Alcaraz will face the winner of Wednesday’s second-round match between No. 15 seed Ugo Humbert of France and 49th-ranked qualifier Marcos Giron of the United States.

Tuesday’s first-round winners include: No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, who defeated No. 45 Mariano Navone of Argentina, 7-5, 6-1, to advance against No. 55 Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia; 2022 champion and this year’s No. 13 seed Holger Rune of Denmark, who defeated No. 38 Matteo Arnaldi of Italy, 7-4, 6-4, to advance against No. 33 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan; No. 19 Ben Shelton of the United States, who was pushed to three sets by 70th-ranked French qualifier Corentin Moutet before he won 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-3. He will face 85th-ranked French lucky loser Arthur Cazaux in the second round.

Also, No. 15 Jack Draper of Great Britain, who two days ago won the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, eased past No. 30 Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-2, and will face World No. 6 and fifth seed Taylor Fritz of the United States. No. 24 Alexei Popyrin of Australia  beat No. 36 Matteo Berrettini of Italy, 7-5, 7-6 (2), to advance against World No. 5 and fourth seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia; and No. 44 Alex Michelsen of the United States upset World No. 14 and 12th seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, 6-1, 6-3, to advance against No. 60 Arthur Rinderknech of France.

Finally, No. 28 Jordan Thompson of Australia upset World No. 8 and seventh seed Casper Ruud of Norway, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, in two hours and 33 minutes on Court Central to advance to the third round against either 58th-ranked French wild card Adrian Mannarino or 65th-ranked lucky loser Zizou Bergs of Belgium, who play Wednesday.

Thompson, who finished with 10 aces and 20, put away match point after Ruud sailed a backhand long that ended a 28-shot rally. He outpointed Ruud 94-90.

Sinner withdraws from Paris Masters

Top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy withdrew from the tournament due to a virus. The World No. 1 made the announcement during a news conference Tuesday morning.

“It’s a very tough announcement,” said Sinner (65-6), who has already qualified as the ATP Year-End No. 1 and will head to Turin for next month’s Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. “I’m not going to play here in Paris. We came here very early to prepare in the best possible way. After the first practice session, I really didn’t felt good. I also talked with the doctor on Sunday, it’s a virus, what makes you feel better in three or four days.

“Today I feel better already a little bit, but the body is not ready to compete and I still feel very, very weak. It doesn’t make sense to go on court and try to compete for this tournament. [I am very] disappointed because it’s a tournament where I would like to see where my level is at. That was one of my main goals for this week. But unfortunately I cannot make this happen.”

Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, ranked 85th, took Sinner’s place at the top of the singles draw. The lucky loser will face No. 19 Ben Shelton of the United States Wednesday evening on Court Central.

Tuesday’s Rolex Paris Masters results

Wednesday’s Rolex Paris Masters order of play

By the numbers

Playing his first match at a career-high ranking of No. 31, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard extended his win-loss record versus Top 20 players to 5-1 with his victory over a World No. 17 Frances Tiafoe. It was also his first ATP Masters 1000 win in his third main draw appearance at this level.

“Quotable …”

“When you play at 11 o’clock in the morning, you know that the stadium won’t be full. It’s not as if you’re playing at 7 o’clock in the evening. But all those that were in attendance were really supporting me, and I hope that tomorrow it will be even better and that there will be more people in attendance. But this is going to be good, for sure.”

— Arthur Fils of France, during his post-match news conference (translated from French), on the Court Central atmosphere today.

 

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