LYON/STARNBERG, May 27, 2023
#NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils earned his first tour-level crown on Saturday at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon. The 18-year-old wild card entry beat Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-5 in Saturday’s singles final of the ATP 250 clay-court event to become the youngest champion in tournament history.
Fils, who edged past US-American Brandon Nakashima in three sets in the stage of the last four, broke Cerundolo’s serve four times to prevail after one hour and 36 minutes.
Teenagers to win an ATP title in 2023:
Carlos Alcaraz (19)
Holger Rune (19)
ARTHUR FILS (18)Not bad company, @ArthurFils1
😎 pic.twitter.com/6MwTejeCUy— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 27, 2023
“I will remember this forever,” Fils said, quoted by the ATP Tour website. “It has been a great week. It has been amazing. I am happy with the win and now I want more. It was a tough semi-final match. Today I came onto court with not lots of energy, but I was focused on my game and trying my best.
“I was feeling that I was playing well earlier [this week] but I didn’t maybe expect that I would win the tournament.”
Fils, who lifted his first trophy on the Pro Circuit at the Oeiras Challenger in Portugal in January, pocketed €85,605 in prize money as well as 250 ATP Ranking points.
