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Frenchman Fils through to second round of Open

3 minute read

French No.20 seed Arthur Fils is the first man through to the second round at the Australian Open.

Rising French star Arthur Fils has become the first man through to the second round on a rain-soaked opening day at the Australian Open.

Playing under the closed roof on Margaret Court Arena, No.20 seed Fils overcame a slow start to beat Finland's Otto Virtanen 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 6-2 in two hours and 35 minutes.

The 20-year-old enjoyed a breakout season in 2024, winning titles in Hamburg and Tokyo.

He also recorded his best result at a major, advancing to the fourth round at Wimbledon before bowing out to Alex de Minaur.

From an Australian perspective, that contest was most notable for the hip injury de Minaur suffered on match point which forced him to pull out of his much-anticipated quarter-final against Novak Djokovic.

Fils' victory at Melbourne Park on Sunday sert up a second-round clash with either fellow Frenchman Quentin Halys or Australian wildcard Adam Walton.

Other men's seeds in action on day one include No.2 Alexander Zverev from Germany, No.6 Casper Ruud from Norway and Czech No.24 Jiri Lehecka, who takes on Australian wildcard Li Tu.

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