French tennis player Arthur Fils on Monday rose five places to 25 in the ATP world rankings after beating Andrey Rublev to lift the Barcelona Open.
Fils, 20, won 6-2, 7-6 to brandish his fourth crown on the senior international tour and his first since Tokyo in October 2024.
"The whole match was a bit tough because I was a bit tight," said Fils who spent eight months of 2025 out with a back injury.
"I played well for a set and a half, but when I came to the closing stages, I started to think a little. But I'm very happy with the way I played the tie-break."
Fils served for the match at 5-3 up in the second set but squandered his chance to wrap up proceedings.
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Rublev eventually levelled at 5-5 and took Fils' next service game to give himself the opportunity to serve for the second set with a 6-5 lead.
However, he failed to grasp his chance and the set went to a tie-break.
Fils reeled off seven consecutive points to claim the shoot-out seven points to two.
"The end of the match was terrible," Fils added. "The end of the second set was just about the mental pressure."
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His triumph also furnished him with bragging rights over his fellow Frenchmen.
With just over a month to go before the start of the French Open in Paris, Fils sits in the world listings as the number one French male player.
Arthur Rinderknech, who lost last week in the second round at the Munich Open, is second at 26 while Corentin Moutet and Ugo Humbert are at 30 and 34 respectively.
Rublev, whose surge to the final took him three places up the rankings to 12, was munificent in defeat.
“Arthur, in recent years you’ve proven you’re one of the best on the circuit," said the 27-year-old.
"You’ve been out for months and you’re already playing at this level again, it’s incredible.
"I train every day and I’m not at that level,” the Russian added to cheers and laughter from the crowds who had watched the final on centre court.
(with newswires)
