Arthur Fils says whether he is feeling more pressure ahead of Paris Masters as he closes in on ATP Finals qualification

Arthur Fils will soon get his Paris Masters campaign underway as he closes in on a spot in the ATP Finals.

The Frenchman is currently sixth in the race to Turin, where the year-end tournament is held, and is likely to qualify barring a disastrous campaign in the French capital. Fils was recently forced to retire from his quarterfinal clash with Taylor Fritz at the Basel Open due to a leg injury, casting doubt on his availability for the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.

But ahead of the final ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season, 22-year-old Fils confirmed he is ready to go.

Asked in a press conference if his participation at the Paris Masters is confirmed, Fils replied: “It’s confirmed 100%. Since Basel, I went back on the same day. I did a lot of care. Yesterday I was off. Today, I still had some treatment and then practice on-site this afternoon. All seems to be fine today.

Touching on his retirement in Basel, Fils said: “It was rather not to aggravate something that I might have had. So it was out of precaution for myself. I did talk about this quickly with the team at the end of the set, and we made the decision to stop the match then.”

Fils will be looking to make a deep run at his home ATP Masters 1000 tournament, where he has never made it past the third round. “I think there is not more pressure,” he said. “I feel more excited. I try to have positive vibes, because it’s a good thing. I’m 22 years old. I could be qualified for the ATP Finals.

“As I said earlier, if I can’t do it this year, then I’ll try the following years. So of course it would be good if I manage to do it this year. I play well. The matches are tougher. We’re more head-to-head. Everybody serves well, everybody returns well, there is a lot of tiebreaks. I have had a lot of tiebreaks since I started the indoor season, so we’ll see.”

“Since the beginning of the season, I have been waiting for playing in Paris. I couldn’t play in Roland [Garros], but I’m looking forward to playing here. I don’t know if the atmosphere will be as crazy as in Bercy, but the room is huge, so matches are going to be tense.

“The scorelines are going to be tight. So the atmosphere will be wonderful. So I’m really, really looking forward to playing there.” Fils is seeded sixth at the Paris Masters, and will take on either Kyrian Jacquet or a qualifier in his opening match.