{"id":7868,"date":"2026-04-20T00:59:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T00:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/7868\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T00:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T00:59:15","slug":"fils-wins-on-barcelona-clay-with-french-open-looming-national-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/7868\/","title":{"rendered":"Fils wins on Barcelona clay with French Open looming | National"},"content":{"rendered":"

Up-and-coming Frenchman Arthur Fils beat Russian Andrey Rublev 6-2, 7-6 (7\/2) to lift the Barcelona clay-court title on Sunday with Roland Garros just a month away.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old Fils returned from an eight-month injury absence in February and has been in strong form, finishing as runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz in Doha, before breezing to a fourth trophy of his career on Sunday.<\/p>\n

“These eight months have been hard,” he said. “And now here I am winning a tournament again.”<\/p>\n

The result will make him France’s top-ranked male player after showing poise and maturity to negotiate his way to this ATP 500 title, including fighting from a set down to beat Spanish hope Rafael Jodar in the semi-final.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, he went 2-0 down in the first set before finding his serve and a flurry of winning shots to win the first set 6-2, unnerving the 28-year-old Rublev.<\/p>\n

In the second set, he blew four tournament points, sending the set to a tie-break, where he regained his nerve and had Rublev running around for a comfortable 7-2 close out.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\n \"Turkey
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“It was all in my head at the end. I played very well for a set and a half, but the pressure of the title caught up with me,” he said of the match points that slipped away.<\/p>\n

“At the end, I told myself I just had to put the ball in, and it paid off.”<\/p>\n

Yannick Noah was the last Frenchman to win Roland Garros in 1983, and Fils will be in the spotlight with the 2026 tournament starting on May 18.<\/p>\n

French open champion Alcaraz pulled out of the Barcelona tournament with a wrist problem midweek.<\/p>\n

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