“I was very good mentally”: Arthur Fils dismisses Valentin Vacherot in Miami and reaches the quarter-finals

He continues his path in the competition. Arthur Fils (31st in the world), who reached this stage of the tournament last year, once again qualified for the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Miami by beating Valentin Vacherot (25th) on Tuesday in the round of 16 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4. The Frenchman will meet for a place in the last four the American Tommy Paul (23rd) or the Argentinian Tomas Etcheverry (32nd).

“I didn’t have much margin and I was very good mentally,” rejoiced Arthur Fils at the organization’s microphone. He was put in difficulty by the Monegasque from the start of the match, where he had to save three break points at 2-2.

After this complicated start, the first round, very balanced, swung in their favor at 5-4. On the opponent’s serve, he then obtained two set points by tearing himself away to deliver a cushioned volley from Vacherot who then committed a double fault.

Vacherot cracks in the last set

In the second set, the two players went blow for blow in intense and ultra-fast exchanges. The two players did not concede any break points and found themselves in the deciding game. This turned in favor of Vacherot, who took advantage of a double fault from Fils to lead 5 points to 3 then return to a set everywhere thanks to an ace.

In the deciding set, Vacherot gave Fils the break by committing two unforced errors in a row at 2-2. The Frenchman, who did not ask for time, then held his serve very solidly until the end to reach the net for this high quality match.