The 18-year-old, who defeated Brandon Nakashima in three sets in the semi-finals, fought hard throughout the one-hour, 36-minute final.
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Arthur Fils won his first tour-level title on Saturday at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon, defeating Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-5 to become the tournament’s youngest champion. The 18-year-old, who defeated Brandon Nakashima in three sets in the semi-finals, fought hard throughout the one-hour, 36-minute final. In their first meeting, he overpowered the fourth-seeded Argentine with great agility and open shoulders. Fils collapsed to the floor after sealing victory on his first championship point, surrounded by a raucous home crowd.
“I will remember this forever,” Fils said. “It has been a great week. It has been amazing. I am happy with the win and now I want more. It was a tough semi-final match. Today I came onto court with not lots of energy, but I was focused on my game and trying my best. I was feeling that I was playing well earlier [this week] but I didn’t maybe expect that I would win the tournament.”
Fils became the ATP Tour’s youngest champion this year with his 10th tour-level victory of the season. In addition, he is the third teenager to win a trophy in 2023, following Carlos Alcaraz (Indian Wells, Barcelona, and Buenos Aires) and Holger Rune (Munich). Fils advanced to the semi-finals in Montpellier and Marseille earlier this season. He did, however, find another level in Lyon. With his title win, he moved up to third place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race. The Frenchman is also on track to break into the Top 100 for the first time, having risen 49 places to No. 63 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Fils and his countryman Luca Van Assche, both 19, are the only teenagers in the Top 100 as Roland Garros approaches.
Fils was urged on by vocal home support in an entertaining final, with a live band creating an electric atmosphere between points. After flying through the first set, Fils twice let a break advantage slip in the second. The 18-year-old eventually earned the third and decisive break of the set in the 11th game, before holding his nerve on serve to earn the biggest win of his career. Cerundolo was attempting to win his second tour-level trophy, having won in Bastad last season. After reaching the quarter-finals in Rome and Barcelona, the 24-year-old will arrive at Roland Garros in 2023 with a 13-9 record on clay.
