Arthur Fils claimed the first ATP 1000 title of his career by defeating Frances Tiafoe to win the Cincinnati Open.

The Frenchman beat the American 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 to win the tournament, following up on victories against Flavio Cobolli, Alex de Minaur, and Jiri Lehecka.

As a result, Fils has become a genuine dark horse to win the US Open this year, particularly with Carlos Alcaraz playing his first tournament for five months and Jannik Sinner missing the tournament.

Fils now has history on his side as the past three winners of the Cincinnati Open have gone on to lift the US Open title.

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Carlos Alcaraz won both titles in 2026, Jannik Sinner claimed both tournaments in 2024, and Novak Djokovic hit the double during the 2023 season.

Borna Coric is the only player not to have a deep run at the US Open after winning the Cincinnati Open in the last five seasons.

The Croatian star won the Masters tournament in 2022, but he was unable to capitalise on his momentum at the final Grand Slam of the season.

Coric was beaten in the second round of the New York Grand Slam, in straight sets by Jenson Brooksby.

Alexander Zverev, the 2021 winner of the Cincinnati Open, was able to reach the semi finals of the US Open after his Masters tournament triumph.

Zverev lost a five-set classic to Djokovic at the 2021 US Open to exit the tournament, but the Cincinnati Open winner has tended to do very well at the Grand Slam in recent years.

As a result of winning the Cincinnati Open, Fils has shot back up the ATP Tour rankings.

Ahead of the US Open, the Frenchman is on the cusp of top 10 of the ATP Tour for the first time in his career.

He sits at a career ranking high of world No 11 currently, just 335 ranking points from Taylor Fritz, who currently occupies the world No 10 spot.

As a result of his high ranking, Fils will have an easier ride of things in the opening round and his third round opponent will not be one of the top seeds at the tournament.

Fils has never got a far as the second round of the US Open, however, having been beaten at that stage of the Grand Slam in 2023 and 2024.

The Frenchman lost to Matteo Arnaldi in 2023 and Gabriel Diallo in 2024 and he did not compete at the 2025 tournament due to a back injury he suffered in the summer months.

On his current form, though, Fils is more than on track to smash his best-ever record at the US Open.