Arthur Fils is toasting his first ATP Masters 1000 title after he secured victory in a curious men’s final against Frances Tiafoe in Cincinnati.

Frenchman Fils looked set to run away with the final as he got off to a flying start against his American opponent, winning the first set 6-3.

He then appeared to lose his way with a strange display in a second set that was won 6-1 by Tiafoe, with all the momentum swinging back to Fils as he won the decider 6-0.

“Wow, that feels good. That feels good,” Fils said. “It’s a lot of training, a lot of things, a lot of sacrifice. Injury. To be able to win one title like this means a lot to me.

“I was a bit nervous during the final. The second set was so quick and I was thinking this is going to be tough, but this is a big win for me and my team.

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“I needed to make a little energy at the start of the second set. Of course, no one was supporting me and so I had to say, let’s go.

“I have played tennis since the age of five and I always wanted to hold one of these trophies. It’s not the end goal, but I am very happy.

“Sometimes you have to see the positives from negative things. You have to think that if you keep working, it will come good and it did today.”

Fils will now head into the US Open as one of the big contenders to win his first Grand Slam title, with this win firing him up to No 11 in the ATP Rankings.

He will have a great chance to leap into the top 10 of the rankings if he continues his impressive form in New York.

This was an emotional win for Fils after he overcame a stress fracture in his back that hampered his progress in the opening half of 2026, with his impressive comeback capped by the biggest title of his career.

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The victory secured Fils prize money of $1,151,380 and while Tiafoe looked exasperated after his defeat as he slumped in his chair, his run in Cincinnati saw him collect $612,340 in prize money.

After a couple of years of stagnation and decline, Tiafoe is not moving up the rankings, and this run to the final in Cincy will see him rise up 11 places in the ATP Rankings to No 12.

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