French teenager Fils stuns veteran Gasquet in Montpellier for first win on ATP Tour

The 18-year-old produced a huge shock as he took out one of France’s biggest names

Arthur Fils, Montpellier 2023 | © AI / Reuters / Panoramic

February 7, 2023

Remember the name: Arthur Fils.

The teenage French wildcard Arthur Fils upset veteran Richard Gasquet 7-5, 7-5 at the Montpellier Open on Monday to earn his first win on the ATP Tour.

The 18-year-old, ranked No 163 and the runner-up in the juniors at Roland-Garros last year, came from 4-2 down in the first set and broke in the 12th game of each set to clinch a famous victory over one of France’s most famous tennis names. He will play No 4 seed Roberto Bautista Agut next.

“Really happy, it was a tough match for me,” Fils said. “He was playing good, I was playing good too, but I played really good in the end of the first set and then I was a little bit more relaxed on the court. I’m happy about this win.”

Gasquet impressed by Fils’ level

Gasquet, who won his 16th title in Auckland at the start of the year, was also impressed.

“He plays well, nothing to say,” the 36-year-old world No 45 said, quoted by L’Equipe. “He hits hard. He is fast. He has a very good future. How far he’ll go I can’t say. But he will go high.”

Montpellier ATP250, other first-round results (Sud de France Arena, hard, EUR 562.815, most recent results first):