Arthur Fils has shed light on the tense conversation he and Stefanos Tsitsipas engaged in following the pair’s third round encounter at the 2025 Italian Open.
Fils battled to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Tsitsipas, the world No 19, in a pulsating contest at the Foro Italico.
The world No 14 fought back from a set and 3-4, 15-30 down to improve his record against Tsitsipas to 4-0.
With Tsitsipas serving at 3-3, 30-15 in the second set, the Greek won the point by hitting Fils on the body as he went straight down the middle of the court with a backhand.
After Fils converted match point, there was a lengthy and animated exchange between the players at the net, with chair umpire Greg Allensworth stepping in.
All sorted in the end
A little bit of tension after the match as Tsitsipas tagged Fils in the second set #IBI25 pic.twitter.com/tkL90QJ00p
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 11, 2025
Fils explained he had no issue with Tsitsipas’ body shot while also revealing he used it as motivation to fuel his comeback.
“I like him, he’s a great guy, a great champion. It was a bit tight in the middle of the second set,” the Frenchman said in his interview with Tennis TV.
“He went for my body. It’s part of the game, there’s nothing wrong with it, but I tried to find a way to fight, so I found this kind of excuse to go and to fight.
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“And okay, he told me at the end he was not going for my body and I told him, ‘I know it, I know it, it’s okay, it’s all good. I just needed to find a way to fight.’ Yeah, it worked (smiles).”
The 20-year-old added: “I told him at the net he was playing unbelievable in the first set.
“He was killing me with his forehand, his backhand, at the net. Serving very good. I could not do a lot of things but in the second set I started to find the rhythm and a way to fight and was happy to finish strong in the third.
“If you let him play, I think he is one of the best clay-court players. His forehand is a huge weapon. I tried to put him under pressure because if I am not putting him under pressure, I am dead.”
Fils will take on world No 2 Alexander Zverev in the last 16 in Rome.
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The post WATCH: Arthur Fils and Stefanos Tsitsipas in tense Italian Open argument as umpire steps in appeared first on Tennis365.
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