"This defeat hurts" - Arthur Fils devastated following close quarterfinal loss to Carlos Alcaraz at Monte-Carlo Masters

Frenchman Arthur Fils has been in phenomenal form this week at the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters, but his dream run came to an end following a nail-biting loss to former World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz on Friday.

Fils cruised past rising Italian star Flavio Cobolli in the second round, before upsetting World No.9 Andrey Rublev to reach the final eight at the Monte-Carlo Masters. However, the 20-year old was unable to capitalize after taking the first set from Alcaraz in their quarterfinal matchup, after having seven break points in the second set and being up a break in the decider.

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Failure to convert his chances hurt the most, says Fils

The World No.15 would eventually fall to his Spanish opponent, with Alcaraz escaping with a 4-6 7-5 6-3 victory. Following his match, Fils would reveal his heartache and disappointment at failing to seal the deal.

"I'm like crazy, it's so hard to lose these matches," admitted Fils. "I had chances and I didn't convert them. Things changed very quickly at the end of the second set. Between 5-All and 7-5, in a few minutes, I didn't handle the situation well, and as a great champion that he is, he handled the situation well on his side.
"So I have to learn from this. I don't even know what to say. This defeat hurts. I had many chances to take the lead and I didn't succeed. So there are positives, but also negatives. I have to talk with my team and see what I need to improve.

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"It's a tennis match. There are ups and downs. I put pressure on him, but he put pressure on me too, and it was his day. He's a great champion. Most of these matches are in his favor, and that's how you see who the better player is. The first break points, I didn't play them well, but the last three break points, he played them very well. Afterwards, for what happened after 5-all, I don't have much to say. (...) I'm like crazy.
"It's so hard to lose these matches, especially when you have chances. If you lose 6-2, 6-2, it's annoying, but you tell yourself that your level wasn't good, that you have to get back to work. But in this match, I played well, only I lost my concentration at certain moments when I shouldn't have, and it didn't work."

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