Tokyo (AFP) – French No.1 Arthur Fils (9th in the world) qualified on Friday for the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo by once again beating the American Frances Tiafoe (8th), recent semi-finalist of the US Open, 6-3, 7-5 in 1 hour 30 minutes.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 1:42 p.m.

Son, 21, had already beaten Tiafoe in the final of the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati at the end of August. He now leads 3 wins to 0 against the American.

The Ile-de-France native, obliged to go through qualifying in Tokyo after having exceeded the registration deadlines by a few hours, will meet in the quarterfinals the Monegasque Valentin Vacherot (18th), whom he beat with great difficulty 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 during their first confrontation, in the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 in Miami in March.

Against Tiafoe, Fils, who performed very well on serve, did not concede a single break point in the first set, which he won 6-3 by converting one of the three break points that the American offered him.

In the second set where the game got tougher and the level went up a notch, Tiafoe did better than stand up to him.

Son had to save his first two break points conceded at 3-4, before picking up again thanks to a second daring service ball, on the line.

Then the match turned in favor of the 9th in the world at 5-5, at the end of a game of crazy intensity that Tiafoe gave to the Frenchman with a double fault.

Just before, the American had left feathers by magnificently saving a first break point after a very long exchange in the form of an arm wrestling match.

All that remained was for Son to finish work on his commitment.

“It was a great match, my level was very high from the start,” declared the winner into the microphone of the organizers after his victory.

© 2026 AFP

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