Arthur Fils Wins Montpellier Return | ATP 250 Update

In the bath, from the start. Arthur Fils has rediscovered sensations forgotten for six months. The arrival on the court, the warm-up, the first service game, then everything that followed. With a back injury, the Frenchman had not played competitively since last summer and a brief appearance (two matches) in Toronto. He was then trying to come back after his injury at Roland Garros. Too early. This time he appears to be 100% cured. Tuesday, in Montpellier, he became a player again. A winner, too, since he got the better of Valentin Royer in a fratricidal duel.

From this first match, Fils in any case had to fight a hell of a battle against the French revelation of the year 2025. For two sets, they went blow for blow, in a duel where the servers generally took the upper hand (14 aces on each side in the end). There was still a break on each side in the first act. Valentin Royer struck first at 4-3 to serve to win the set, but he was broken immediately, before Fils snatched the decisive game on the wire (9-7).

It was again in the tie-break that the second set would be decided, this time Royer taking his revenge (7-4). The 100% blue duel had started two hours ago at the start of the decisive round. But it turned out to be much faster and one-way this time. A break, then another and Arthur Fils took off, removing a first doubt: physically, he is in good shape after a semester away from the courts. This first match, lasting 2h33, was an excellent first test in this regard. He will face for a place in the quarter-finals, either the lucky loser Ugo Blanchet or the qualifier Andrea Vavassori. Nothing insurmountable, if his body digests the sequence. It will be another full-scale test in its week of recovery…

Humbert in his hand

The return to Europe (and France) is off to a good start for Ugo Humbert. The left-hander from Metz, eliminated at the start of the Australian Open by Ben Shelton, did not tremble on Tuesday to dismiss the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp for the sixth time in six confrontations, in two sets, 6-3, 6-4. Very solid on serve, especially in the first set where he was never in danger, Humbert concluded his match against the 67th player in the world with three consecutive aces.

“It hasn’t been easy but I’m always happy to come back to France. I always have a great feeling when I play indoors in France“, declared the Lorraine after the match. “I served well from start to finish. I had a really solid match and I’m very happy to start my tournament like this“, added the 38th player in the world, who had to put aside three break points in the second set.

In the next round, Humbert, seeded N.5 in Montpellier, will face his compatriot Adrian Mannarino for a blue left-handed duel. “It’s never easy to play a friend and never easy to play a left-handed person like me. It’s not going to be easy“, judged Humbert. There will be at least five French people in the eighth at the Open d’Occitanie. Besides Fils, Humbert and Mannarino, the qualifier Titouan Droguet and the guest Arthur Géa have also already validated their ticket.