The French Arthur Fils (24 ATP) won his first Japan Open title on Tuesday, an ATP 500 category tournament, after defeating his compatriot Ugo Humbert (18) in a contested match that ended in three sets, 5-7 and 7-6 (6) and 6-3.
The young promise of French tennis, 20 years old, turn the game over after Humbert took the first set and threw the tiebreaker to his side in the second.
In a match that lasted three hours, Humbert, 26, was more consistent thanks to the consistency of his serve, where he scored 13 direct points.
The left-handed player even had a match point in the tiebreaker, but Fils came back and took the second set (8-6)where he was treated for some physical discomfort.
In the final and with the Ariake Colosseum crowd on their side, parity was maintained until the Fils managed to break serve to make it 5-3 and take the lead in the next game, with the first match point they had.
Fils, who defeated sixth-seeded Dane Holger Rune in two sets in the semifinals, added his third title of his career after winning the ATP 500 in Hamburg in July this year and Lyon last yearboth in clay.
The one in Tokyo, the oldest ATP Tour in Asia since its first edition in 1972, was the fourth meeting between the two French players, with three wins for Humbert, two of them this year.
Fils was Sergi Bruguera as coach until the end of May, when he was fired for the first time at Roland Garros.
Source: La Verdad
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