Arthur fils peremptory on Jannik Sinner: "A massacre"

Arthur Fils ahead of his debut at the Internazionali d’Italia spoke at a press conference in Rome, returning to his confrontation with Jannik Sinner in Madrid. The Azzurro won outright in two sets, but some spoke of a head-to-head challenge: “Head-to-head? It wasn’t head-to-head…,” admitted the French tennis player.

“In the first set it was a massacre,” said Fils laughing. “I mean, he’s a great champion; he hasn’t lost a match since Indian Wells, so he’s collected many victories. Many wins in a row. It was funny because when we got on the court, neither of us had lost a match on clay, and I thought, ‘Okay, maybe I’ll be able to make him lose’… But evidently it didn’t happen,” he said still laughing.

“But it was really nice to share the court with him. It was a great experience for me. I mean, I’ve learned something, I’m trying to improve and I hope the next time we play it will be a little bit better, but I actually had a lot of fun,” continued the transalpine player, among the best on the circuit in this first part of the season.

Fils feels he can still grow to get to compete with the best: “I believe in it. I mean, I know it’s going to be a lot, a lot of work, a lot of hard work, a long journey, but I really hope to make it one day. Since I was a child, I’ve always dreamed of becoming number one in the world. It’s not easy, it never will be, that’s for sure, but if I work at it, why not? I mean, why not believe in it? It’s good to believe in it.”