Arthur Fils surges into Madrid semi-finals

Coming on the heels of his Barcelona triumph earlier this month, Arthur Fils' run to the Madrid Open semi-finals shows he has ​fully recovered from a long-term back problem and is ready ‌to make a real statement at the French Open on home soil.

A stress fracture in his lower back suffered at Roland Garros last year all but wiped out ​the remainder of Fils' season, with his brief return in Toronto ​in August proving to be premature and forcing another long period ⁠of rehabilitation.

Since returning in February, Fils has made deep runs at ​Doha, Indian Wells and Miami before going all the way in Barcelona, where ​he downed Andrey Rublev in the final to win his first title since his comeback.

Fils beat Jiri Lehecka 6-3 6-4 in the Madrid quarters on Wednesday to further heighten ​expectations before the French Open begins on May 24, but the 21-year-old ​is shutting out all the noise.

"I don't even look. Because if you start to, ‌your ⁠head goes everywhere," Fils told reporters.

"I try to be focused. I still have to play here in Madrid, and I have to play Rome, then more preparation, and the French Open. So I have a lot of time.

"When ​you're injured you ​get a lot ⁠of ... criticism, bad comments. So I stopped looking at it (social media). Since then, I'm feeling pretty good without it."

While ​Fils' goal will undoubtedly be to become the first ​Frenchman to ⁠win a Grand Slam since Yannick Noah's 1983 Roland Garros triumph, his immediate focus is on world number one Jannik Sinner in the Madrid semis on ⁠Friday.

"I ​haven't lost a match on clay. He ​hasn't lost a match on clay and hardcourts since a long time. It's going to be ​pretty good," Fils said.

-Reuters