It took Arthur Fiers two hours and 34 minutes to earn his first break point in Wednesday night’s Miami Open quarterfinal match against Tommy Paul – and in that time, the Frenchman had already converted six of his own.
Just at the match point, Paul’s serve ended at 5-6.
Both men were quickly eliminated by Paul, leading to a third set tie-break – the perfect ending to a high-quality match filled with creativity, intensity and passion from start to finish.
There is no doubt that Paul was in high spirits after saving the match point and led 6-2 on the break. He holds four match points and stands on the cusp of his fifth career Masters 1,000-meter semifinal.
What happened next is legendary.
With his back against the wall, Phils attacked with all his strength, seizing every opportunity, and match points slipped away one after another.
Moments later, he tied the score at 6 – and there was no turning back. The Frenchman scored the final two points of an intense tennis match that lasted 2 hours and 47 minutes to seal the victory 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 7-6(6).
According to Mike Cation, who tracked the data on the sidelines during the commentary, during the game, the 21-year-old Fiers (who will face Jiri Lehka in the semifinals) hit a total of 15 forehands exceeding 100 mph, including 3 forehands in the final set tie-break.
It took a lot of effort to get past Paul, but Paul also performed well in this high-quality fight.
“It was a scrimmage and I never backed down,” Fiers said during an on-court interview, pacing back and forth between answers to avoid cramping. “Even if I lose, it doesn’t matter – I just try my best.”
Fiers became the youngest Frenchman to reach the Masters 1000 semifinals since 2007 and the fifth Frenchman to reach the Miami semifinals – the first since Richard Gasquet in 2013.
Fiers saved all six break points he faced, but the four match points he erased will be etched in the legend of the tournament – and his career.
In the first game, he threatened his opponent with a forehand, and then forced his opponent to make mistakes with a fierce cross-court backhand. In the second game, he hit a backhand again, forcing Paul to volley, and Fiers finished it with force. In the third game, he defeated Paul in a difficult confrontation and caused a forehand error. On his fourth serve, he delivered a winner that was nearly out of Paul’s reach.
Two points later, Paul’s long forehand earned Fiers his second match point, but he once again held his ground and forced a backhand error that shocked Hard Rock Stadium.
