Arthur Fils Beats Machac in Paris, Sets Up Fritz Rematch

Arthur Fils never faced a break point and beat qualifier Tomas Machac 6-3, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday night to reach the round of 16 at the Paris Masters, closing out the tiebreak with two service winners on Court Central. Better yet for the home crowd, he did it on the same day he locked up a spot at his first ATP Finals.

That's a massive day for French tennis. Per Tennis Majors, results elsewhere on Wednesday, including Quentin Halys knocking out Frances Tiafoe, clinched Fils' Turin spot before he even took the court. He's the first Frenchman to qualify since Gael Monfils in 2016. And he gets a rematch with Taylor Fritz on Thursday.

How Fils Handled Machac

Fils was locked in from the jump. He held all 11 of his service games and won 35 of 38 first-serve points in 1 hour, 29 minutes. One break in the first set was all he needed, though Machac made him work for it, saving three set points in a wild 28-point game with 11 deuces at 2-5.

The second set was tighter. Machac, who came through qualifying and had won three straight matches, started swinging freely, and Fils had to hold at 30-30 serving at 5-6 to force the tiebreak. Machac jumped out 2-0 in the breaker, but Fils fired up the crowd, took the lead for good with an ace at 4-3 and served it out.

After the match, Fils wrote "Ici c'est Paris" on the camera lens and said it had been a year and a half since he'd played at home. "It's pure joy," he said in French.

Turin and a Record Season

The win also pushed his French record for Masters 1000 wins in a season to 22. This was a real question mark coming in, too. Fils retired from his Basel quarterfinal against Fritz just last Friday with lower back discomfort, trailing 6-2, 2-0. Wednesday looked like a guy whose back is just fine.

Fils vs. Fritz, Round 2

Now comes the rematch. Fritz needed 37 aces and a third-set tiebreak to get past qualifier Alex Molcan earlier Wednesday, and he still needs a deep run in Paris to keep his own Turin hopes alive. Fils knows what he's up against. "It's his favorite surface," he said. "But I'm at home, so that's the advantage."

They're scheduled for Thursday on Court Central, set for 11:30 a.m. PT. Watch Fils' first-serve percentage early. If he serves like he did against Machac, Fritz might not see many break chances.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on total aces in Fils vs. Fritz. Fritz just hit 37, and Fils won 35 of 38 first-serve points on this fast indoor court.