Don't look now, ATP tennis fans, but Arthur Fils appears to be beginning a climb that could keep the 21-year-old Frenchman in the top 10 for quite some time. He's nowhere near ATP No. 1 Jannik Sinner yet, but he's inching closer. Both players won their respective matches in the 2026 Madrid Masters round of 16.
Sinner took out feisty Cam Norrie, the 19-seed, who has been playing better tennis of late. The Brit has his limitations, of course, as he has good power and decent mobility, but nothing like the Italian. This showed up in the first set when Sinner had a 6-2 thrashing of Norrie.
What made the set slightly odd was that Sinner had trouble landing his first serve, doing so only 60 percent of the time. But he has evolved to nearly peerless form over the last three years and offers no real weakness. His second serve is devastating, too, and he won 80 percent of those points.
Jannik Sinner and Arthur Fils advance to the quarterfinals of the 2026 Madrid Open
The second set was tighter, but, ironically, only because players had a slight dip in form. Cam Norrie had seven winners but 14 unforced errors and had no real business staying in the set. Sinner didn't lose any of the first serves he landed (16 in total), but Norrie kept battling while likely knowing he was doomed at the end.
Sinner won the second set 7-5, and he will next play the winner of the Vit Kopriva and Rafael Jodar match in the quarters. The Italian will be the heavy favorite.
Arthur Fils was just as impressive against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in his round of 16 match. The Frenchman appears to be finding himself in 2026, making deep runs at several tournaments. He has long been expected to become one of the better players on the ATP with his huge forehand and bombastic first serve, and he's getting there this year.
In beating the Argentinian 6-3, 6-4, Fils had to play great defensively, however. Each player faced multiple break points, but the Frenchman made the most of his opportunities, getting one break in the first set and one in the second while saving all four of his own break points.
Fils was also by far the more aggressive player, finishing with 17 winners and just 15 unforced errors. He will next play another player having a great 2026, Jiri Lehecka, in the quarterfinals. The match will feature two big-hitters and should make for electric tennis.
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