Missed start of South American tour for the Essonnian. Arthur Fils, who claims to want to improve his game on clay to perform at Roland-Garros in particular, has chosen to fly to South America, and more particularly Buenos Aires this week, to launch his tour in a continent that he had never visited before. At least as a tennis player.
Very popular with locals and/or surface specialists, this tour is particularly feared by regulars of the “main” European circuit, where for example the ATP 500 in Rotterdam takes place this week. Arthur Fils chose a completely different path and paid the price for his first on clay since July 2023.
The Serbian Dusan Lajovic, with a delicious one-handed backhand and a style of play perfectly suited to clay, shared his experience against the young 19-year-old Frenchman in the first round of this tournament. Yet less well ranked in the ATP (58th for the Serbian, against 36th for the Frenchman), the older of the two players won in two rather tight sets (6-3, 6-4) to reach the second round . The American adventure will continue in Rio de Janeiro (ATP 500) for the young Frenchman, who will try to rack up matches before the North American tour (Indian Wells-Miami, March 6-31).
Carlos Alcaraz, particularly expected in Argentina and big favorite for this tournament, will face local Ugo Carabelli, 134th in the world, on Thursday in the round of 16.