A night of highs and lows for the French
Montreal served up a brutal one for French tennis, but there was a bright side too. On one hand, Arthur Rinderknech was dumped out of the Canadian Masters 1000 after a suffocating scrap with Brandon Nakashima. On the other, Arthur Fils backed up his return to form by outplaying Cameron Norrie to reach the quarter-finals.
Two very different stories. Rinderknech had his chances, including two set points in the decider, before slipping at the finish. Fils held his nerve in a nerve-shredding tie-break and keeps stacking up the positives in a tournament that is starting to look like a genuine revival.
Next up, the Frenchman will face Rafael Jodar, the 19-year-old Spanish prodigy who knocked out Jiri Lehecka. A fresh new showdown that already has plenty of appeal.
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Rinderknech will feel this one
Arthur Rinderknech was agonisingly close. Up against world No. 31 Brandon Nakashima, the Frenchman battled for almost three hours. After losing the opening set in a tie-break, he found a way back into the contest and grabbed the second 7-5.
At that point, everything was still on the table. In the final set, Rinderknech even carved out two set points. Two chances to put the American under the cosh, two openings that could have flipped the night. But Nakashima dug in, hung around, then found the decisive break.
Final score: 7-6, 5-7, 7-5.
It is the sort of loss that lingers. Not because Rinderknech played badly, far from it. But because he had the keys in his hand, or at least felt like he did, before seeing them slip away.
Fils starts like a man in charge
Arthur Fils, by contrast, had a much happier evening. Against Cameron Norrie, the Frenchman came out firing. The first set was controlled, the shot-making was crisp, the intent was clear, and the dominance was almost complete. By wrapping up the opener 6-2, he looked like a player with his swagger back.
It was not just about the scoreline. Fils was striking the ball cleanly, moving better, hitting through the court and playing without the physical niggles that have interrupted his progress in recent months. He looked freed up, steadier, more sure of himself.
But Norrie does not just drift away.
A tie-break to test the nerve
In the second set, the Brit raised his level. More stubborn, more precise, harder to read, he forced Fils into a different kind of match. The Frenchman had chances, did not always take them, and suddenly found himself dragged into a tense finish.
The tie-break was the real test.
Fils admitted afterwards the last half hour had been wild, the sort of finish made for a Saturday-night showdown. At 10-8, he finally got it done. Not with style points, but with composure. And that may be the most encouraging part of the win.
Beating Norrie 6-2, 7-6, and avoiding a third set matters a lot. Physically, mentally, and for the momentum in the tournament.
“I am getting better every day”
After the match, Fils kept coming back to one simple feeling: continuity. It has been a long time since he has strung together several matches at a high level without discomfort, without a brake on his game, without feeling like his body is dictating the terms.
That confidence is showing on court. And he said it himself: his backhand is starting to click again. Maybe a technical detail. But for a player like Fils, who can do real damage on the forehand and likes to take control, having a reliable backhand changes everything. It helps him stay in rallies, stops him getting bullied down the line, and lets him choose when to go for the kill.
In Montreal, he is not just winning matches. He is rebuilding belief.
Jodar is the kind of test that excites
The quarter-final against Rafael Jodar looks like one to savour. The 19-year-old Spaniard keeps turning heads in his first proper season on tour. After a 6-3, 6-3 win over Jiri Lehecka, he has now reached a fourth straight Masters 1000 quarter-final, joining Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in a stat reserved for freakish teenage talent.
Against Fils, it shapes up as a clash between two players who each represent part of the tour’s future. On one side, the more established Frenchman, trying to cement his place among the best young players in the world. On the other, Jodar, bursting through with serious momentum and not showing much fear at all.
Fils has a real shot
This will not be simple. Jodar arrives in hot form, brimming with confidence and with nothing to lose. But Fils also looks like he has found something valuable again: the energy of a player who believes in his tennis.
In Montreal, he has won three matches, found his backhand again, survived a pressure tie-break and stayed composed when Norrie tried to turn the screw. Those are signs. Not a guarantee, but strong signs all the same.
Rinderknech leaves with regrets.
Fils keeps moving forward with purpose.
And against Jodar, he has a chance to turn a good week into a proper statement to the tour.
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