Arthur Fils was beaten handily in the Qatar Open final yesterday, put to the sword by a merciless Carlos Alcaraz.
It served as yet another stark reminder of just how much better the world number one is than the chasing pack, completing his rout in just 50 minutes, 6-2, 6-1.
Despite the heavy nature of this defeat, the 21-year-old remains one of the sport’s hottest young prospects.
And, given this marks just his third tournament since his return from a long injury lay-off, there remains so much cause for optimism.
However, even Arthur Fils is aware of just how far away he is from truly challenging Carlos Alcaraz, touching on that in his post-match assessment.
Arthur Fils compares his level to Carlos Alcaraz’s after Qatar Open final
Chatting with the press, Fils seemed a little downtrodden after what turned into a beatdown in the final.
And, when asked about Alcaraz’s level during that match, the Frenchman was quick to give his opponent his flowers.
Do you believe Carlos Alcaraz is already the greatest tennis player of all time?
He claimed: “I played worse than I played this week. But he is No. 1; he has not lost a game since the beginning of the year. We see why. For now, it’s another level, and I’m not there yet; I’m not there at all. After that, I have to work, but for now, I’m not there at all. He plays very, very well, and I have nothing to say.”
Then asked what he may lack to be able to compete with him, Fils’ reply was startling: “Almost everything”
He continued: “It goes fast, from the beginning he puts a lot of pressure on me, he plays well, it was a little complicated. These are things that happen. We’ll have to watch the game, see how it went.”
There is still reason to believe that Fils will soon challenge Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner despite this latest result, but it will take time.
How Carlos Alcaraz was able to dominate Arthur Fils in the Qatar Open final
From the very first ball, Alcaraz was all over Fils. He did not afford him a second to breathe, and the Spaniard swiftly converted his stranglehold over the match into a lengthy lead.
He was supreme in every department, once again serving remarkably well.
However, despite not facing a single break point, where he truly excelled was from the baseline.
Whilst Fils has the power and accuracy to cause Alcaraz problems, the 22-year-old seemed so comfortable scuttling from left to right, keeping the ball in play and patiently waiting for his opportunity.
Joao Fonseca will be the man to unsettle Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s duopoly over men’s tennis – Prove us wrong!
It doesn’t matter where Alcaraz is on the court; he is always capable of hitting a clean winner.
And, in the end, he finished with 18, compared to the three winners that Fils managed.
He simply could not get the ball past the seven-time Grand Slam champion, and that stubbornness saw the runner-up demolish his racket deep into the second set as the final was slipping away from him.
