Rune-slayer Arthur Fils joins Ugo Humbert for a Franco-French final in Tokyo

Après Taylor Fritz et Ben Shelton, Arthur Fils s’est offert le Danois Holger Rune, lundi à Tokyo. MAXPPP – Rodrigo Reyes Marin

The two best French players of the season qualified, Monday, September 30, for the final of the Japanese ATP 500 tournament.

Cocorico. As the season draws to a close, one of the last tournaments will feature an all-French final between Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert, winners of their respective semi-finals on Monday. The French No. 2 and No. 1 will face each other on Tuesday from 12:00 (French time).

A French duel for a title on the ATP circuit had not happened since January 2020 and a clash between Humbert, already, and Benoît Paire, in Auckland. The former had then won.

On Monday, he came closer to a repeat by booking his ticket to the Tokyo final thanks to his victory over the Czech Tomas Machac in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Despite losing the second set, the first he gave up this week, Humbert won without much trembling, not having to defend any break points in the two sets he won.

Humbert still the winner in the final, Son euphoric

The French No. 1, 26, has won the six finals he has played to date, including two this season in Marseille and then in Dubai in February. In the emirate, he won his second ATP 500, the third category of the circuit after the Grand Slams and the Masters 1000, after Halle in 2021.

Arthur Fils will therefore have to fight hard in the final. Which he has been able to do in recent days, until this success against the Dane Holger Rune, beaten 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (12/10), on Monday. The 20-year-old from the Paris region, ranked 24th in the ATP and French No. 2, had eliminated Taylor Fritz, ranked 7th in the world and recent finalist of the US Open, then the other American Ben Shelton, defending champion in Tokyo, in the previous rounds.