Arthur Fils has revealed that he hopes to replicate his success at the Lyon Open earlier this year at the Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina this week.

19-year-old Fils has had a meteoric rise on the ATP Tour this season after starting the year ranked outside the Top 250. The Frenchman won his first Challenger title at the 2023 Oeiras Indoors II in January, which saw him enter the Top 200.

Fils went on to win his first ATP match at the Open Sud de France in February. He then made it to the semi-finals of the tournament, defeating fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut along the way.

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However, the young player's success was far from over, as in May he defeated Francisco Cerundolo to win his first ATP title at the Lyon Open, a 250 event held the week before the Roland Garros. In recent months, he has made even more breakthroughs, as a win against Casper Ruud at the Hamburg European Open saw him enter the Top 50 in the ATP Rankings.

Fils suggests he wants to secure 2nd ATP title

Speaking ahead of his next tournament at the Winston-Salem Open, another ATP 250 event held a week before a Slam, Fils suggested that he wants to emulate the success he achieved in Lyon.

"The last time I played the week before a Slam, it was great for me," he told ATPTour.com, "I played in Lyon, and I won [the title] just before Roland Garros. So I want to do the same [in Winston-Salem] just before the US Open. It’s a great tournament. I want to take all the experience I can."

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Fils reflects on major rise

Fils also reflected on his accumulation of milestones and breakthroughs over the season so far, saying it happened more rapidly than he expected, but that he believed he was at a good level coming into the year.

"A little bit [faster than expected], but it was in my mind for a long time. Last year, I was playing some Challengers, but I [...] felt that I had the level for playing some ATP tournaments. And with a good start of the year like [I had], I can dream of big things. So it’s not in my mind that something crazy has happened to me," he said.

Furthermore, he added that he hopes to keep improving with the aim of reaching the Top 30.

"My movement on the court, because I’m moving pretty good now. Last year it wasn’t that good, but now I’m really happy about it and I would say with my serve too, I improved a lot. I’m trying again and again to improve.

"If I can be Top 30 in a few months I will be [happy], but I have some good tournaments to play, so let’s see."

Maxime 🎾

@MaxTennnis

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Profite Alcaraz, profite. Avant que Arthur Fils ne vienne bousculer tout ça.

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