US OPEN

August 29, 2026

Arthur Fils

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome. If you could, your thoughts as you approach this year's Open.

ARTHUR FILS: Oh, I'm very happy to be back in New York, as I missed the one last year. I'm going to try to be as good as I can. Yeah, have a tough first round, and I'm going to enjoy.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Congratulations on your Cincinnati win. I want you to talk about Gael Monfils' legacy. What does he mean to you?

ARTHUR FILS: Means a lot. It's a lot. He's like a big brother to me. I have been watching him all of my life, I think like all of us. You know, just now to see him on the tour means a lot. Very close to him.

Of course, it's tough. It's his last year now, last US Open, but I'm sure we still gonna see him a little bit after the career.

Q. I'm curious what confidence you gain from winning Cincinnati, what were you most impressed with during that tournament?

ARTHUR FILS: Well, I was pretty happy with my serve in Cincinnati. I think I was serving great. I had some fast games, you know, and I was pretty accurate on my spots. This was good.

Just the, how can I say, the medium level, I don't know if you get it, but I was not playing unbelievable, but I was still managing to have some occasion, and I was taking my occasions, so that was the most important thing in Cincy.

Q. You and Ben win back to back in big titles. That's your guy, right? Curious about your friendship, when you first met him, how you clicked together.

ARTHUR FILS: I first met him I think four years ago on the tour I think in Madrid, if I'm not wrong, three or four years ago. But he always -- we have the same energy, you know. He's funny; I'm funny. We have a lot of fun when we are together, and when we practice we always practice very good. We have some nice dinner.

It's always very, very nice to be around him. I don't consider him like other players, as like colleagues. No, it's a friend, and I could go holidays with him, and he's a friend.

Q. In New York, there is so much going on around the US Open, so many activities, so many obligations and things like that. How do you, as an athlete, navigate having to do all of that stuff and stay present but also focus on your tennis?

ARTHUR FILS: I think it's all work. This is what we do. Of course we want to be athlete, but we have some obligation from the sponsors, from the tournament, and it's normal. We just got to do what we got to do.

You have to try to do it as good as you can, trying to not waste too many energy. That's not my job. That's my team job (smiling).

Yeah, that's it. But it's quite okay.

Q. How would you describe what's most important to your success and where you are in your game right now?

ARTHUR FILS: Tell me again, sorry? I lost the focus.

Q. Sure. How would you describe what's most important to your success and where you are in your game right now?

ARTHUR FILS: I think my mentality. I think this is the most important. This is why I win a lot of matches this year, because I've been playing some tough matches but still got the win at the end.

I think I have a pretty good record on three-sets matches. So I think this is the most important to me.

Q. And then for five sets, how is the challenge different?

ARTHUR FILS: Well, I don't know. It's completely different. I think it's a different sport.

We played only two slams in the last two years because I have been injured a lot, so I have to find myself, to find my rhythm in a slam. For now, I didn't see it, but I still have ten more years to play tennis, so I think I'm going to find at one point.

Q. Wimbledon was the first time you finished a slam healthy since US Open here in 2024. Does this feel like the most prepared you have been for a slam in a long time?

ARTHUR FILS: Yeah, yeah, it is. I never felt that prepared. Of course, I have been working hard before Wimby, but was tough. I didn't get any rhythm.

Now I'm coming here with momentum of course in Cincy and with a lot of work that we did this week, so now it's just time to enjoy and have fun.

Q. Obviously a lot of people are interested to see your first-round match against Stefanos. How excited are you to play it?

ARTHUR FILS: I'm very excited to play against Stefanos. It's going to be a very nice match I think for us, as players, but also for the spectators. I think it's going to be very funny.