Fils beats Tiafoe in rare Top 10 clash as Jacquet, Vacherot and Munar complete Tokyo quarterfinals

French qualifier Arthur Fils won a rematch of the Cincinnati final on Friday, beating American Frances Tiafoe, the second seed, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships. It was only the second time since 1990 that two Top 10 players had met as early as the second round of an event, after world No. 6 Ivan Lendl beat No. 10 Goran Ivanisevic in Brussels in 1992.

The world No. 9, playing his first tournament as a Top 10 player, now leads Tiafoe 3-0 in their head-to-head. Their previous meeting was the Cincinnati final, which Fils won 6-3, 1-6, 6-0.

The 22-year-old Frenchman, the 2024 champion here, has now won seven straight matches in Tokyo. This was his fifth Top 10 win of the year, which ties him with Tiafoe behind Jannik Sinner (10), ahead of Carlos Alcaraz and Flavio Cobolli (4 each).

Fils had beaten fellow Frenchman Luca Van Assche 6-3, 6-2 in the first round. Tiafoe, ranked No. 8, had ended Kei Nishikori’s career in his opener, beating the Japanese wild card 6-4, 6-4.

Fils will next face Monégasque Valentin Vacherot, the No. 8 seed. Vacherot edged out Greek qualifier Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Friday night in their first meeting. The world No. 18 reached his seventh ATP Tour quarterfinal and his second at ATP 500 level, after beating Belgian Alexander Blockx 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) in the first round. Tsitsipas, ranked No. 44, had beaten Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

In the bottom half, Frenchman Kyrian Jacquet earned the biggest win of his career on Friday night. He beat Italian Luciano Darderi, ranked No. 19, 6-3, 7-6 (5). The world No. 86, who had ended Holger Rune’s first Tour event since his Achilles injury 6-3, 6-1 in the first round, reached his third ATP Tour quarterfinal. Darderi had beaten Norwegian Casper Ruud, the No. 6 seed, 7-6 (3), 6-3 in his opener.

Jacquet will face Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar, who swept Portuguese lucky loser Jaime Faria 6-1, 6-1 on Friday night. The world No. 64 reached his fourth quarterfinal of the season, after upsetting American Taylor Fritz, the No. 3 seed, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-3 in the first round.

Tokyo Open 2026, round of 16

C. Alcaraz [1] vs M. Arnaldi – Saturday Oct 3
D. Shapovalov vs A. Tabilo – Saturday Oct 3
J. Munar (Q) d. J. Faria (LL) 6-1, 6-1
K. Jacquet (SE) d. L. Darderi 6-3, 7-6 (5)
U. Humbert vs J. Lehecka – Saturday Oct 3
M. Berrettini vs A. Vallejo (Q) – Saturday Oct 3
V. Vacherot [8] d. S. Tsitsipas (Q) 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4
A. Fils (Q) d. F. Tiafoe [2] 6-3, 7-5