Roland-Garros magazine spoke to Arthur Fils. At 19, the Frenchman dreams of winning a Grand Slam. In , Arthur Fils started to make a name for himself on the world tour by winning his first title on clay in Lyon and breaking into the top At nearly 20 years old his birthday is on 12 June , the rising French star hopes to go much further, especially at Roland-Garros as the tournament has a special place in his heart.
On clay, it feels like a battle, matches are often tough, a struggle even, you really need to fight. The forehand. With the forehand, especially on the clay, you can really control a point, move the ball to the left, to the right, go cross court or down the line. My forehand on clay is more deadly than my backhand. Those memories are really special. It was amazing, the atmosphere was really special, I had the crowd behind me, and even though I lost, it was still a great experience.
We train all year to live those special moments, that kind of atmosphere. Winning here one day would be just incredible. Roger Federer is my idol. I want to win a Grand Slam. It adds a lot of pressure when you have the skill to win. I train hard, I work hard, so one day I might have a chance to win one. But I still need more experience. My rubber against Daniel Evans in the Davis Cup last year.
But the tables turned in the blink of an eye. I feel lucky to be where I am as millions of people try and make it in sport. Life on the tour is good, we play at the best tournaments in the world, in the most incredible places in the world.
Fokina and I have a lot of fun together, we share the same interests. We speak often and get on really well. I really enjoyed maths and physics. I specialised in science for the Bac, and got a distinction. And I skipped a year when I was My parents pushed me quite hard at school, to get a good qualification.
