ATP Match of the Year, No. 4: Carlos Alcaraz, Arthur Fils trade heavy haymakers and sliding gets in Monte Carlo

This week, Steve Tignor will reveal his ATP Matches of the Year, and the TENNIS.com editors will reveal our ATP Players of the Year. The WTA editions will begin Monday, December 8.

Carlos Alcaraz and Arthur Fils had played two fiercely fought sets, filled with blazing winners and lunging retrievals. Now Fils had reached the moment of truth, and he had the shot he wanted. One more clean forehand swing and he would serve for the match against the four-time Slam champ.

It was the Monte Carlo quarterfinals. More important, it was the first meeting between the Spaniard and the Frenchman, who were 21 and 20, respectively, at the time. The showdown had been a long time coming, but it had been worth the wait. For 90-odd minutes, they’d thrown everything they had at each other. Full-swing forehands from one side were met by even bigger cuts from the other. Slugfest rallies at the baseline evolved into cat-and-mouse duels at the net.

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Alcaraz was the bigger name, but Fils had been building to this type of high-wattage collision for a month, when he made quarterfinal runs in Indian Wells, Miami, and now Monte Carlo. He was eagerly awaiting whatever Alcaraz had in store, and looked, for a set and a half, like the better player. When push came to shove, it was Fils’ reflexed returns and heavy forehands that prevailed. Alcaraz’s customary grin was nowhere to be found. He looked stressed, by Fils and the French-centric crowd.

Serving at 5-5 in the second set, Alcaraz seemed to buckle under Fils’ pressure, going down 0-40. Two good points got him back to 30-40. With one more break chance, Fils slowly took control of a rally, running around to hit forehands and forcing Alcaraz to come up with short-hop backhands. Finally, Fils had a look at an inside-out forehand. He fired it toward the sideline; for a split-second, it looked like a winner. Then the electronic voice spoke: “Out.” Alcaraz had reached deuce. Breathing a sigh of relief, he held, then played a much more upbeat game to break for the set, finishing with a perfectly measured lob winner. He was grinning again.

For 90-odd minutes, they’d thrown everything they had at each other. Full-swing forehands from one side were met by even bigger cuts from the other.

Instead of caving, Fils quickly rebuilt a 3-1 lead in the third. But that only inspired Alcaraz to find another gear. Fils opened the door with an error-filled game at 3-2, and Alcaraz barreled through it. At 3-3, his backhand began to click. At 3-4, Fils tried to counter by going even bigger with his forehand, but sent the ball into the net and the doubles alley instead. Fils was broken for 5-3. A second or two later, his racquet was, too.

“I just wanted to stay strong and wait for my chances,” Alcaraz said after his 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win. “He puts a lot of pressure on his opponents. I could feel it.”

Faced with an opponent who can slug with him, Alcaraz’s drop shot helped make the difference.

“I miss clay,” Alcaraz said. “I think on clay it’s easier to play the drop shot; it’s a weapon that I use a lot. Matches like this give me more confidence to keep doing it.”

It was all the confidence he needed for the rest of the year, it turned out.

Looking back at Alcaraz's 2025, this win stands out as a turning point. He was coming off an opening-round loss in Miami to David Goffin, a defeat so traumatizing it left him telling reporters, “Mentally, I’m screwed.” After switching surfaces and fending off Fils, Alcaraz won Monte Carlo, Rome, and Roland Garros in quick succession.

Fils, unfortunately, went in the other direction. A month later, his promising season was cut short when he fractured his back in Paris.

Still, this was surely the first of many meetings between these two, and the start of a rivalry that should last a decade or more. On this day, Alcaraz’s big-stage experience made the difference. When it mattered most, Fils overhit just a bit, while Alcaraz found his range just in time.