Jannik Sinner reached his eighth tour-level final and the first of the season on Saturday when he defeated #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils 7-5, 6-2 at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier.
In a hard-fought clash, the second seed saved two set points on serve at 4-5 in the first set before he upped his intensity and aggression from the baseline in the second set to advance after one hour and 34 minutes.
“I am very happy to be in my first final of the season,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “We practised very hard to play some big matches. It doesn’t matter what kind of tournament, every tournament when you go far is very good. I am very happy to be in the final here.”
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The 18-year-old Fils has enjoyed a dream run in Montpellier at his second tour-level event, defeating Richard Gasquet, Roberto Bautista Agut and Quentin Halys in straight sets. However, after starting well, he never recovered from squandering set points in the opener, misfiring more as the match went on.
“He [Fils] beat incredible players at this tournament so I knew I had to play at a very high level today,” Sinner said. “He is very strong and has great groundstrokes. Maybe I had a bit of experience on him in the first set and I got a bit lucky.”
Sinner, currently No. 15 in the Pepeprstone ATP Live Rankings, now holds a 18-5 career tour-level record against Frenchmen. The 21-year-old Italian will compete for his seventh tour-level title on Sunday when he faces American Maxime Cressy.
Sinner, who reached the fourth round at the Australian Open last month, has won five of his six tour-level crowns on hard courts. His other triumph came on clay in Umag.
Fils, who was the youngest Frenchman to reach the semi-finals at a tour-level event since Richard Gasquet in Metz in 2004, is up to No. 117 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his standout week.
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Cressy equalled the biggest win of his career by Pepperstone ATP Ranking when he upset World No. 9 Holger Rune 7-5, 6-7(3), 7-6 to reach his fourth tour-level final.
The American produced a strong serving display, firing 15 aces and winning 93 per cent (53/57) of his first-serve points to improve to 1-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Rune. With his two-hour, 36-minute win, Cressy has climbed to No. 38 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.
Cressy, who defeated then-World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon last year, will be aiming to win his second tour-level title when he takes on Sinner, having triumphed in Newport in 2022.
“Jannik Sinner is an incredible player like Holger Rune and everyone else in the tournament,” Cressy said looking ahead to the final. “You have to find your best game every time and I am really looking forward to it.”