Australian Open: Fils survives scare to make second round

Arthur Fils edged out Otto Virtanen 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday. He’ll play the winner of the match between Australian Adam Walton and Frenchman Quentin Halys in the next round

Arthur Fils (Action Plus/Panoramic)

Bren Gray

January 12, 2025

Australian Open •First round • completed

See draw

O. VirtanenvsA. Fils

Frenchman Arthur Fils, the No 20 seed, moved into the second round of the Australian Open by edging out Finn Otto Virtanen 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Sunday.

The No 20 seed struggled across the opening two sets, striking 28 unforced errors as Virtanen played fearless tennis to go up a set and a break.

Fils managed to rein in the errors just in time, edging out his opponent in a second-set tiebreak before finding his range over sets three and four to close out the match in two hours, 45 minutes.

“It was a tough match, he was playing great tennis, putting me under pressure,” Fils explained. “I had to find a way to win the second set, and to feel a little bit better on the court.

“Game after game, set after set, I was playing more aggressive. I’m really happy with the way I dealt with the match. Let’s try the same way in the second round?”

Fils reveals key to greater consistency

Fils later confessed in his post-match press conference that two years ago, this was the kind of match he likely would have lost. Now, however, he has a renewed calm on-court that makes all the difference.

“I stayed very calm during the match, you know?” he explained.

“Even if I was 5-4 down, I was very calm because I was feeling I was playing okay. Like I had great feelings on the court. I was just missing sometimes.

“I said to myself, ‘Even if you are two set down, maybe you’re going to have some occasion to win the serve and then we see’.

“If I’m losing my mind, for sure I don’t have any more occasion. So the best thing is to stay very, very calm and to try the best and let’s see.

“Yeah, for sure, two years ago I would probably lose this one.”

Fils, ranked No 20, will play the winner of the match between Australian Adam Walton and Frenchman Quentin Halys next.

Melbourne (Grand Slam), other first-round results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 60.627.573, most recent results first):