Arthur Fils, the Downturn

The collaboration between Arthur Fils and Sébastien Grosjean, his coach since the end of last season, is not starting as well as hoped for. The 19-year-old Frenchman, ranked 36th globally, fell in the first round on Tuesday on the clay court of Buenos Aries. He was defeated by Dusan Lajovic (6/3, 6/4), which seems to confirm a negative dynamic.

The season didn't start too badly for Fils, with a quarter in Hong Kong, being beaten by Rublev (6/4, 1/6, 6/2), followed by a semi in Auckland; a semi-final, but also brought a first disappointment with a loss (6/2, 7/5) against Alejandro Tabilo, then ranked 82nd in the world. It was then thought that the Frenchman had saved himself for the upcoming Australian Open.

But subsequent events did not confirm this assumption, with a loss in the 2nd round in Melbourne, against Tallon Griekspoor (3/6, 6/1, 7/5, 6/4), a match particularly disappointing due to his attitude. He will therefore need to initiate a positive dynamic in Rio starting next week.