Arthur Fils just keeps on winning, and now faces arguably the toughest test in world tennis at the moment.
After all, having impressed to reach the Madrid Open semi-finals, if he wants to realise his ambition of claiming a career-first Masters 1000 title, he will have to go through world number one Jannik Sinner to do so.
This clash pits two players who are undefeated on clay against one another, with the Italian having extended his mesmeric win streak in the Spanish capital.
And, ahead of their match tomorrow, Arthur Fils was actually discussing that very statistic.
Arthur Fils claims Jannik Sinner is doing something that is ‘not possible’ for him
Speaking at a press conference earlier this week, the 21-year-old was asked whether he could imagine himself achieving something similar to Sinner’s ongoing win streak.
At present, he has won 21-straight matches, with titles at Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo coming along the way.
Can anyone now stop Jannik Sinner from winning Roland Garros after Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal?
If yes, who?
“Don’t even mention it,” Fils replied with a smile.
He continued: “Right now, I’m just trying to win one more. For me, it’s not possible to even consider that.
“I think the most I’ve done in my career is maybe eight or nine. We’re at eight today, we’ll try to reach nine.”
Fils added: “For now, I’m just trying to win one more, then we’ll see about those players who win 20 in a row or 17 in a row. For me, right now, it’s not possible. Maybe someday.”
Fils has completed a feat no French player has managed in over a decade with his run in Madrid.
Arthur Fils looks like the player to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
It is a testament to how one-sided the ATP Tour has become that people are seemingly so hungry for a new competitor to emerge and challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner.
After all, they have shared all of the last nine Grand Slam titles, and currently have won every event where at least one has entered for 20 straight tournaments.
Of the current crop of young talents bursting through, as well as the likes of Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev remaining relevant, it does feel like Fils is becoming the sport’s best chance of unsettling the duopoly.
He is hungry and supremely talented, and boasts the physical and technical assets to compete at the very top.
Is Arthur Fils the next best player after Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
Not to mention that the Frenchman is in blistering form at the moment, having reached a final in Qatar, quarter-finals of Indian Wells, semi-finals of Miami, before winning Barcelona.
Now, he is set to face Sinner in the semi-finals of Madrid, having been handed a golden opportunity to reinforce his position as the man to break through and create a new Big Three.
