Arthur Fils saves four match points to stun Tommy Paul in brilliant Miami battle

It’s safe to say that Arthur Fils is the ATP’s Comeback Player of the Year so far in 2026.

Late Wednesday evening at the Miami Open, the 21-year-old halted an 0-4 record in ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals by rising to the occasion with one foot out the door.

Down 6-2 in a deciding tiebreak with Tommy Paul, Fils ran off the next six points to complete a dramatic 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6) victory against the Boca Raton, Fla. resident. There were no breaks of serve throughout the two-hour-and-49-minute tussle, and the Frenchman’s lone break point was a match point, at 5-6 in the third set, when Paul’s 40-0 lead on serve evaporated.

With the notable exception of the conclusion, Paul was brilliant. He was more aggressive than usual, answering Fils' heavy and spinny shotmaking with his own brand of artillery. The points were breathtaking battles, full of gusto and guts. When Paul saved a match point and earned four of his own, victory appeared certain.

But in the moments that mattered most, Fils didn't blink.

Last year, Fils was the only player to reach the quarterfinal stage at the season’s opening three 1000-level tournaments. What looked to be his most promising season to date soon turned to heartbreak at Roland Garros. A stress fracture sustained during a spirited five-set win over Jaume Munar in the second round would ultimately force him to withdraw from his home major and limit him to a single appearance in Toronto, until making his return at Montpellier last month.

Since coming back, Fils has posted 13 wins in 17 matches played—five coming against Top 30 opponents. He finished runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP 500 in Doha,and matched his 2025 Indian Wells last-eight run ahead of his bigger push in Miami. In the third round of the second Sunshine Swing stop, Fils produced “the best match I ever played in my life” with a 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Stefanos Tsitsipas.

This match might have surpassed it, and for the fortunate fans in Hard Rock Stadium, it might have been the best match they have ever seen.

Fils had 2,935 points on his ranking following last year’s French Open. Despite all the time he missed, the Bondoufle native has done tremendously well to back up his early 2025 haul. The win over Paul is projected to raise him to 1,640 points in Monday’s rankings, with 1,890 up for grabs by reaching the final, and 2,240 should he lift a maiden 1000 crown. He'll first need to defeat Jiri Lehecka in Friday's semifinal.

Fils will look to continue matching or improving upon the 600 points he collected during the European clay-court swing, before playing with virtually nothing to lose the rest of the year. Paul, meanwhile, is scheduled to begin his clay-court season in a few days' time, in Houston.