Paris (France) (AFP) – There is only one Frenchman left at the Masters 1000 in Paris: Luca Van Assche, 47th in the world, qualified for the quarter-finals, his first in this type of tournament, thanks to his 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday.

Published on: 05/11/2026 - 22:12

Obviously expected in Paris as French No.1, Arthur Fils, 7th player in the world, was outclassed 6-3, 6-4 by the American Taylor Fritz (12th), once again failing to reach the round of 16 in the capital.

. Helpless son

At 22, Arthur Fils is having an impressive season, with a first Masters 1000 title (Cincinnati) in August then entering the top 10 for the first time this fall.

A year 2026 also rewarded by a first qualification for the end-of-season Masters in Turin (November 15-22), where the last Frenchman to have participated was Gaël Monfils, in 2016.

But as is often the case, his time in the French capital once again ended in failure, he who has not played Roland-Garros for two editions (forfeited after the 2nd round in 2025, before the tournament in 2026) due to injury, and missed the Masters 1000 in Paris last year, still convalescing.

In the tournament, Fils has only three victories in the main draw in four appearances -- two eliminations in the 1st round and two in the round of 16.

He met Taylor Fritz on Thursday evening a week after their quarter-final match in Basel, where the Frenchman, then trailing 6-2, 2-0, had given up, "as a precaution".

But Fils came across a Fritz of the great evenings, imperial on serve (14 aces, 76% first ball) and great quality in returns, leaving Arthur Fils totally helpless.

"There was a moment when I said to myself that it was still going to be very complicated. Overall, it's not as if I had had a bad match. It was just him who was stronger than me, who served better and returned better," reacted the Frenchman quickly.

The American completed the first set in less than half an hour with a shutout. And Fils did little better in the second set, taken by the throat in the first game before giving up his serve at 1-1 after a backhand which hit the edge of the net, without crossing it.

Also struggling in his movements, he wasted the rare opportunities he had on Fritz's second balls.

And the American concluded the match in just over 1 hour 10 minutes with another shutout.

. Van Assche proud to have “imposed his game”

Like Son, two other Frenchmen took the door in the round of 16: Quentin Halys (46th), beaten 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 by Tommy Paul (14th), just like Arthur Rinderknech (68th), eliminated by Ben Shelton (4th) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5).

The only tricolor clearing of the day is called Luca Van Assche.

Winner in July of his first title on the main circuit at the ATP 250 tournament on clay in Estoril, the 22-year-old Frenchman found Musetti two weeks after their quarter-final at the ATP 250 tournament in Lyon where the Italian, future winner, took the upper hand after a breathtaking duel lasting more than 3h30.

The former world junior number one pounded Musetti's backhand at will until he got three balls in the first set, pocketing the third thanks to a direct error on the Italian's forehand.

“I managed at times to impose my game and I am very happy with that,” rejoiced “LVA” at a press conference.

After taking advantage of a drop in speed from Van Assche in the second set, the Italian made a series of unforced errors at the very end of the match and offered three match points to the Frenchman, who concluded with a drop shot at the net after 2 hours 38 minutes.

Thanks to his second victory in a row against a top 30 (after Learner Tien, 19th, in the second round), he is assured of entering the top 40 for the first time in his career at the end of the tournament.

In the next round, the last Frenchman predicts a "good fight" against the Australian Rinky Hijikata (83rd), from qualifying, the lowest ranked in the table at this stage but defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2nd round.

© 2026 AFP

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