Arthur Fils withdrew from one major and could miss another due to a stress fracture in his lower back.
The 14th-ranked Fils bowed out of his third-round match against 17th-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev at the French Open, which was scheduled for Saturday. The Frenchman explained his reasoning, saying that he wanted to put himself in the best possible position to compete at Wimbledon.
“We decided with the team it was better to stop now, because if I’m stopping now, I could stop for only four to six weeks,” Fils said Saturday. “If I was pushing myself too much, I would probably stop for a couple of months. … Had to make a choice.”
Wimbledon is slated to begin on June 30.
Fils, 20, admitted he felt that his existing back issue worsened during his five-set victory over Jaume Munar of Spain on Thursday. The match lasted four hours and 25 minutes.
“I gave everything. I couldn’t go for more,” Fils said. “At the end of the second set, I could feel that the back was not good at all.”
Fils said he doesn’t think he needs surgery.
–Field Level Media
