Fils holds his nerve when it matters
Arthur Fils dropped the opening set and almost let the decider slip on Thursday. He still walked off the court in Basel with a quarter-final place. The French number one, ranked eighth in the world, beat American Alex Michelsen 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the last 16 of the ATP 500 event.
It was the second meeting in six days. Fils had beaten Michelsen in Brussels last week, and the American arrived hungry for payback. He got it in the opening set, then watched Fils level the match. The decider turned on a game at 5-5, when Fils broke to love and then handed the break straight back with a run of errors. The tiebreak was tight, and Fils took it seven points to five when a Michelsen forehand sailed long.
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Turin is almost within reach
The scoreline matters because of what sits behind it. Fils is seventh in the Race to Turin with 3,525 points, and he is effectively sixth because Jannik Sinner has withdrawn. His closest chasers, Frances Tiafoe and Rafael Jodar, both lost on Thursday. Even if Alex de Minaur wins Vienna, he would top out at 3,480 points, still behind the Frenchman.
Race-tracking account @Racetoturin put his odds of qualifying at 97.86% on Thursday morning, before the win. Nothing will be official until the Paris Masters, where Fils will be sixth seed and skip the first round.
Friday brings a quarter-final against the winner of Taylor Fritz and Denis Shapovalov. A win there is worth another 100 points.
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