2 weeks Ago
Arthur Fils aims for a quick response to his semi-final loss in Basel when he faces veteran Marin Cilic in Tuesday's Paris Masters first-round match. The Frenchman's ATP 500 winning streak was halted by good friend Ben Shelton in Basel, and he chases a deep run in Paris, keen to carry his ATP 500 form into a 1000 tournament. © Imago Fils' second half of 2024 has been admirable, with the Frenchman notching the titles in Hamburg in July and in Tokyo during the Asian swing.
Although his 13-0 winning streak at ATP 500 events ended against Shelton in the last four in Basel, the 20-year-old aims to avoid a tournament-opening exit against his veteran opponent. While the improving Frenchman has recently flourished at 500 tournaments, he has hitherto unsuccessfully reproduced that form in 1000 events, underscored by his 4-8 record in 2024. The Frenchman's best run came when he reached the third round at Indian Wells in March before losing to Casper Ruud in straight sets, highlighting his early exits at the Masters events.
His last appearance in Shanghai, which followed his Tokyo success, ended in two sets against veteran Roberto Bautista Agut , but he hopes to benefit from home advantage in Paris. The 20-year-old is the favourite against Cilic, even if he has won 18 fewer titles than the 36-year-old, who recently triumphed in Hangzhou. That victory ended a three-year wait for a title, and the 21-time ATP Tour champion aims to notch his first Masters 1000 victory in 2024.
His only appearance at such events came in Shanghai last month, only to exit in his tournament opener against Arthur Cazaux in two sets, an outcome observers expect in Paris. Cilic's last win at a Masters tournament came two years ago in Canada, where he progressed to the round of 16 before falling to Carlos Alcaraz , and the world No. 202 aims to end a 0-3 record at the home player's expense.
Fils and Cilic meet for the first time on the ATP Tour, with the Croatian keen to record his first Masters 1000 victory since 2022. The Frenchman enters Paris on a 1-6 run at ATP 1000 events since a tournament-opening victory in Monte-Carlo (4-8 overall in 2024) and aims to secure a positive result in Paris. Fils, winless at the soon-to-commence event after opening-round losses to Daniel Altmaier last year and Fabio Fognini in 2022, seeks to improve his 0-2 record in his home event.
Although Fils has struggled at Masters events since Monte-Carlo, he should back himself to end his main-draw losing run in Paris by getting the better of Cilic in their first tour meeting..
