Destined for stardom, Fils on acting ambitions

Could Arthur Fils be the next James Bond?

On court, the #NextGenATP Frenchman is often the star of the show. With his electric game and vibrant personality, Fils has entertained fans during his early career on the ATP Tour, highlighted by his first title in Lyon last year and his run to the third round at this year’s Wimbledon.

A developing talent in the tennis world, the 20-year-old is now eying up a future role in the film industry too.

“At one point I would love to be an actor but I don’t think it is possible at the moment,” Fils told ATPTour.com. “After my career maybe I would love to. Acting is super cool. I never did any acting at school but I just love it because I love watching movies.

“I really like Michael B. Jordan. He is in a lot of great movies and it also seems a super cool life. I also really like Leonardo DiCaprio. I just love watching action movies and series. I like Power and Top Boy is great. Being in London, now is the time to watch Top Boy. But I like watching actors, so who knows in the future if it is for me.”

World No. 34 Fils is a man of many talents. He started playing tennis aged five, but also enjoyed competing at track and field, judo and football when he was a teenager.

“I did some track and field when I was younger, running 100 metres. I also played judo and football. I was always better at tennis, though," Fils said. "I really enjoyed those other sports, but I had to choose tennis because I was a little better and it was at the age where I needed to play more and more.”

Fils athletic ability is on show every time he steps on court and it was highlighted at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF last year. He and the other Jeddah qualifiers participated in ‘Basecamp’, which was a selection of tailored and general challenges that measured the physical and athletic skills of participants.

The players undertook four tests: vertical jump, 10-meter sprint, 5-0-5 test and star drill. Fils ranked highly in all four.

“[Basecamp] was fun. I did some of these tests when I was at the French Federation and enjoyed them,” Fils said. “It's super nice because you are competing with the guys about something else other than tennis and it's fun and competitive. We were running as fast as we could and then you saw your time and it was fun. Arthur [Cazaux] and I were close, but he was better. In the French Federation, we were always competing and so close.”

Back in the present and Fils is making impressive strides at Wimbledon, where he is into the third round at a major for the first time. The 20-year-old defeated Dominic Stricker in his first match and then moved past Hubert Hurkacz, who retired when down match point due to a knee injury.

Fils is happy with his time so far in west London and is pleased with his progress on grass.

“Wimbledon one of the best places in the world,” Fils said. “The whole venue is amazing, the atmosphere here is amazing. I really enjoy playing here, the traditions and the crowds are so great. When you play in all-white it is super special.

“It's only my second year on grass. OK, I'm playing better than last year, but I still have so much to improve. I don't know how to move on it yet. I don't know if I'm too powerful. I don't know, but I'm always slipping. I'm in the third round and I will try my best to be in the second week.”

Fils, who is first in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, will aim to continue his run at Wimbledon on Saturday when he takes on Roman Safiullin in the third round.