<figure id="attachment_3301863" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3301863" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3301863 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/4d1be340-afp__20260310__2265830257__v2__midres__bnpparibasopen2026day7_1_cropped_1.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3301863" class="wp-caption-text">Arthur Fils of France in action during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. (AFP pic)</figcaption></figure>
INDIAN WELLS: Arthur Fils&#8217;s injury comeback continued to gather pace as the Frenchman upset Felix Auger-Aliassime to book an Indian Wells quarter-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev.
Fils beat ninth-ranked Canadian Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 7-6 (11/9) to reach the last eight.
Germany&#8217;s Zverev downed American Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4.
Fils is in the last eight in the prestigious ATP and WTA Masters 1000 event for the second straight year, but it&#8217;s been a twisting road to arrive there.
Back trouble kept him off the courts for eight months, but since a return at Montpellier last month he has impressed with a run to the final in Doha.
The 21-year-old, now ranked 32nd in the world, appeared to be in control with a 4-2 lead in the second set.
However, he let that advantage slip away and trailed 0-5 in the tiebreaker before he steadied, saving five set points before wrapping up the straight-sets win.
&#8220;I was at 0-5 in the tie-break and I was going to my box and complaining and complaining,&#8221; he said, adding that the advice he got was to stop complaining and focus on the match.
&#8220;I tried to focus as I could. Not too much emotion, celebration. Just tunnel vision and I am happy with it,&#8221; said Fils, who let the emotion emerge again with a mighty chest thump after putting away match point.
Fils said he was most pleased with how he finished the match against Auger-Aliassime, who lifted the trophy in Montpellier last month and reached the final in Rotterdam.
&#8220;Everyone is good at the start of the match, everyone can play great tennis,&#8221; Fils said.
&#8220;But when it matters the most, that is when you can see you are either a great competitor or back down and today I showed I was a tough competitor,&#8221; Fils added.
World number two Jannik Sinner headlined men&#8217;s play on Tuesday, taking on 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca.
Italy&#8217;s Sinner is looking to make the quarters for the third time at Indian Wells, where he has yet to claim the title.
Fonseca is in the fourth round of a Masters 1000 event for the first time.

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