ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2025

Arthur Fils

Press Conference

A. FILS/J. Munar

7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 0-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Congrats, Arthur. That was a crazy match. Can you talk us through the match and explain what happened?

ARTHUR FILS: So I won the two first sets. I lost the two other. (Laughter.)

Was a bit tough in the fifth. Came back from a break down, and I did a crazy celebration. Here we are (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. It's nearly three hours since you left the court until this. Tell us what the last three hours have been like for you.

ARTHUR FILS: Recovery. A bit of ice bath. I mean, hot and ice baths. Then we did physio, massage. I got lunch, as well. Now I'm here. I saw a bit the family, as well, yeah.

Q. How are you feeling?

ARTHUR FILS: A bit tired, to be honest. Yeah, a bit tired. The legs are a bit heavy, but it's not that bad. I was thinking it was going to be very tough, but not that bad. I'm feeling okay. I have to see how tomorrow morning I wake up, for sure. But it's not bad.

Q. It's something with the back?

ARTHUR FILS: Yeah. (Laughter.)

Yeah, the back a bit. Got some issue with the back, but that's since I'm young so I'm used to. And also the cramps. A bit of everything. The mix was not very good.

Q. Do you think there is any other tennis court and any other crowd where you could have managed to do that fifth set?

ARTHUR FILS: No.

Q. What was it like to go through that fifth set and to use sort of some of you, some of them, and to hear it? Then you're standing there at 5-4 and they are singing the National Anthem. I'm amazed you didn't start crying on the court.

ARTHUR FILS: No, it was unbelievable. Never felt like this. I played Bercy. For me, Bercy was the best atmosphere. But now that I played this one, it's unbelievable.

It's one of the best courts of the world if it's not the best one. The crowd really push me to win this match, because I think if we are playing, I have already said it, if I was playing in Asia or whatever, not very sure that I could, first of all, finish the match. And to win it, almost zero percent of chances.

I don't know. Today, with the crowd, with everything, I made it. A bit lucky, but it is what it is.

Q. Did you always know you were this tough, or did you show yourself today how tough you are?

ARTHUR FILS: I'm tough, man. (Laughter.)

No, I knew it before. You know, with my education, my dad, my mom really push me when I was young and everything. So I know what I can go through.

Okay. Today was a lot, but I knew that I was going to fight until the end. Okay. Maybe sometimes I'm gonna lose; sometimes I'm gonna win. But at least I'm fighting, and then we see.

Q. Your next match will be a very exciting one. It would be good in the night session, but because of the Champions League, are you going to ask not to play the night session? If you finish early enough, would you even fly there or are you going to watch on TV?

ARTHUR FILS: I think it's tough to fly there. I don't know. I don't know what Rublev ask. Maybe he asked to play night session just to bother me.

No, I'm kidding. I don't know. Let's see about the schedule. Let's hope I'm playing in the afternoon but not during the night.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Where are you going to hide this memory away for you in your personal list of things?

ARTHUR FILS: This is my best match of all time, I think. I have had big matches before, but I have never had a match like this in five sets before.

I have had some difficult matches in my, like, for example, in my first US Open, but this one is the best five-set match that I have ever played, and I could have lost this match. I was lucky.

But it's going to be one of my best five-set matches ever of my life.

Q. Richard is leaving tennis today. What is his legacy, do you think?

ARTHUR FILS: I don't know. He's one of the biggest French champions. We were talking with Nicolas Mahut the last time, and he's one of the top 5 or top 10 French players of all time.

It's strange. You know, I have just seen him in the locker room, and I talked to him for a few minutes before coming here, and it's strange to know that this is the last time. He won't be with us in the tournaments, and I'm not going to meet him on the circuit anymore.

And I asked him what he was going to do, and he told me, I'm going to play football. So it was a strange moment.

If I need advice, I know where to go. But it is a strange feeling.

Q. Sometimes you had to appeal to the public. Sometimes you didn't need to. You provoked your opponent. He didn't like it. What do you think of this public that can seem undisciplined for some people?

ARTHUR FILS: Undisciplined. It's a harsh term. When you look at the public spectators at football matches or in NBA, NFL, there is a crazy atmosphere. But here we are. The tennis public is a little more disciplined.

Sometimes they're noisy, and sometimes it's a bit annoying for the opponent. But this is part of life. You've got no choice.

When I went to Brazil, I played against Fonseca, and I didn't complain about the public. You've got no choice. When you go to Australia, you play Australians. When you go to New York, you play Americans. People are screaming at you for three or four hours. What can you do about this? You can't complain about the public. This is just part of the game.

I think that the French public is one of the best if not "the" best, and that's just the way it is.

Q. What was your talk with the coach on the court? Was he trying to tell you to be reasonable?

ARTHUR FILS: There was so much noise, I couldn't hear him. He was speaking with his hands. He was asking did I want to continue. I said to him that I'll let this fourth set go and I'll give it all I've got for the fifth.

When we started to play again, we just did it.

Q. Are you sure that you're 100% in shape for your next match?

ARTHUR FILS: I hope so.

Q. We were talking about your next match and your opponent. Do you know who it is, and if you know who it is, what do you think of it?

ARTHUR FILS: It's Rublev. It's not going to be an easy match. He had a better ranking than me. He was top 10, top 5. He's used to this type of matches in Grand Slams, and he's played a lot of five-set matches before. I know it's going to be a complicated match.

But once you go onto the court, you have a 50/50 chance of winning. He has his chances; I've got mine. We'll see how the dice rolls.

Q. Can you talk to us about your love of the PSG, how it started, and which are the players that you like most on the PSG.

ARTHUR FILS: Since I have been young, it was either OM or Paris. Of course there are other teams, but when you're a young boy, they ask you, do you like OM or Paris?

I have always loved Paris. I have played a little football myself. And when I really started watching football, this is when Mbappe and Neymar arrived. I thought he played wonderfully in his first year in Paris. There was Zlatan as well. I loved watching Zlatan with my father. Stefo. And I'll keep looking.

But, you know, we travel a lot. We're not always in the time zone. It's difficult to follow League 1 matches. But the Champions League, I still follow that.