Frenchman Arthur Fils is making the most out of his limited action in 2026.
The 21st-seeded 22-year old knocked off Frances Tiafoe, 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 to capture the Cincinnati Open on Sunday afternoon in Mason, Ohio.
The title is Fils’ second of the season, fifth of his career, but his first ATP Masters 1000 crown.
“Wow, that feels good. That feels good,” Fils said. “It’s a lot of training, a lot of things, a lot of sacrifice. Injury. To be able to win one title like this means a lot to me.”
Fils got a late start to the 2026 campaign, as he was still recovering from a lower-back stress fracture, which curtailed his 2025 season. He missed the Australian Open, but reached the finals in Doha, the quarters at Indian Wells and the semis in Miami.
The power-hitting right-hander capped that run with a title on the clay in Barcelona in mid-April.
But after a semi-final loss to Jannik Sinner in Madrid, Fils had to pull out of Rome with more back (and hip) issues and did not play at his home slam in Roland Garros.
Fils has moved up eight spots to fifth place in the Race to Turin, the eight-man event which caps the season.
Tiafoe, who has served efficiently during his run to the finals, had a poor day on Sunday. He only put 39.1% (27-of-69) of his first serves in for the match and just 32% in the first set. Fils won 20-of-23 of his service points in the first set and cruised in 29 minutes.
But Tiafoe, inspired by the pro-American crowd, flipped the script in the second set, breaking Fils in the second and sixth games and losing only six points on serve to set up a decider.
Perhaps Fils saved energy in that set because he won 30-of-48 points in the third set, although Tiafoe battled in a 16-point final game.
Fils paid homage to Tiafoe in his post-match comments.
“It’s good to be here and play a final against you,” said Fils. “When I was young I was watching you a lot on tv. You’re one of the guys that made me turn on the tv . So I’m very happy to see you back at that level. I hope we’re gonna have a lot of nice battles.”
Both players will rest and recover before starting play in the U.S. Open, which gets underway in New York on August 30. The draws will be announced on August 27.
–Field Level Media
