Van Assche beaten, a third win in three days
Arthur Fils (world No. 9) came through his first-round match at the Tokyo ATP 500 on Wednesday, beating fellow Frenchman Luca Van Assche (No. 43) 6-3, 6-2 in just over ninety minutes. It was a repeat of the 2021 French Open juniors final, this time going the way of France’s No. 1.
The straight-sets win, his first of the tournament, capped an unusual run for a top-10 player: Fils had to come through qualifying, beating American Martin Damm and then Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak, both in three sets.
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“We didn’t know if I’d play Tokyo”
After the match, Fils explained the “administrative issues” that forced him into qualifying in the first place. He and his team only decided to enter the Tokyo field after his first-round loss at the US Open on 31 August. By then, the entry deadline had already passed by “six or seven hours,” and with no wildcard offered, qualifying was the only way in.
“You’ve just cracked the top 10 and you end up playing qualifying for an ATP 500 you’ve already won,” said the Cincinnati Masters champion, who admitted he went into qualifying “very tense.” Against Van Assche, he said he felt “a bit more relaxed.”
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Nishikori or Tiafoe up next
Fils, chasing a first career appearance at the Turin Finals, will face the winner of a second-round match between Japan’s Kei Nishikori, playing his final professional tournament in Tokyo, and American Frances Tiafoe. Earlier in the day, Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot also advanced, beating Belgium’s Alexander Blockx.
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