"Just let me have the cornrows" - Arthur Fils reacts as Alcaraz and Cobolli replicate his prior hairstyle

Back fit and healthy, Arthur Fils is enjoying a very promising Canadian Open campaign with Masters 1000 glory his ambition. Following a noticeable 6-3, 6-2 win over Mariano Navone, he spoke out about Carlos Alcaraz and Flavio Cobolli boasting a new hairstyle as they followed in the footsteps of the Frenchman.

At the Miami Open, Fils was spotted with cornrows, a new hairstyle that got some attention. Inspired by his basketball idol and NBA legend Allen Iverson, he went on a run to the semi-finals in Florida where Jiri Lehecka stopped him in his tracks.

Other players have also been seen donning the hairstyle. Roland Garros finalist Cobolli had it on his vacation while recently Alcaraz, who has been growing his hair out long since stepping to the sidelines with his wrist injury, shared some pictures of him on the court with cornrows.

The cultural connotations of the style has seen some bemused looks by some tennis fans with a bit of a discussion and debate following.

After his win, he was questioned on the Tennis Channel about them copying his hairstyle. "Man, you put me on the spot right now," he said. "Well, it's cool that they are trying. It's good to try. But I like more Flavio with his normal hair. And I like Carlos with his normal hair—Spanish hair. Very nice. And just let me have the cornrows."

It was a very dominant performance against his Argentine rival as Fils reached the fourth round in Canada for the very first time. Winning 91% of his first serve points, he did not have to save any break points in a commanding showing from start to finish.

His aggressive style based off the courts speed paid off. "The court is very slow. Very, very slow. I was like, I almost played on clay today. Honestly, it was so slow," he confirmed.

"So I was like, 'OK, you know what? Try to be aggressive, but don't go for too much because I'm going to miss a lot.' And you know, Mariano Navone is a great player. He's running a lot. So I was like, 'OK, if I start to go for too much, I'm going to miss. And then I'm going to start to go for three or four hours of matches.' And that's something you don't want. So I was like, 'OK, just be patient. Wait for the good opportunity.' And the serve helped me a lot today, so I was very happy."

Fils was injured for the first part of the year after a back issue kept him out of the second half of the 2025 campaign. Since his return, he has been on fire. In his third tournament back, he lost in the final of the Qatar Open against an impenetrable Alcaraz. He reached the quarter-finals of Indian Wells along with that semi-final run in Miami, bettering his results from the prior campaign. He won the Barcelona Open before more great form on Spanish soil saw him reach the Madrid Open semi-final.

However, his injury issues again cropped up, first starting at the Rome Open. He did not return until Wimbledon where he took some time to get going again. Now in Montreal, it seems that he is finding a very high level once more.

"Oh, you know, last year was very tough. As you say, I had to wait eight months before I was able to play again. My injury was tough," he admitted. "Now I didn't make the same mistake. We didn't make the same mistake with my team. We said, 'You know what? Better not to play.'

"Because over five sets, when you're not 100 per cent healthy, it's impossible. So we said, 'OK, don't play the French Open, maybe play Wimbledon. Just try to get some matches in a Slam.' Because I played two Slams in the last two years, I think. So I was like, 'OK, let's try.' And now I'm back and I'm feeling great. So I think we did good. We took the right decision."

Fils will now play Cameron Norrie in the last-16 of the Canadian Open as he looks to reach a seventh Masters 1000 quarter-final. It is a huge opportunity for Fils who is the second highest ranked seed in the bottom half of the draw thanks to the destruction of the top players over the past couple of days.