Lately, there has been a growing trend in tennis where players imitate each other. Novak Djokovic caused controversy when he mimicked Ben Shelton’s style at the US Open. French professional tennis player Arthur Fils has joined the trend of tennis athletes imitating famous celebrations, adding his own unique twist to the growing list of players who have adopted this practice.
This famous celebration in particular has often been copied by athletes from different sports and Arthur Fils himself commemorated his victory at a major tennis tournament with a celebration that had fans of the young star jumping along with him.
Who is Arthur Fils?
Arthur Fils is a young professional tennis player from Bondoufle, France. The 19-year-old turned professional in 2022 and reached a career-high ranking of world no. 36 on October 30, 2023.
Fils became the youngest French player to participate in the Paris Masters where he lost to Fabio Fognini in 2022. 2023 saw Fils defeat seasoned players like Richard Gasquet and Stan Wawrinka as he climbed up the ranking table.
He also developed a rivalry with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, as they met twice in the first round of the French Open and Wimbledon. Unfortunately, he was defeated by the Spaniard on both occasions. He achieved revenge by emerging victorious over Fokina at the Shanghai Masters.
Fils triumphed over Casper Ruud at the Hamburg Masters, his first win over a top-five player. In October, he doubled up when he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas at the European Open.
His ranking meant he qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals in November, a tournament where he qualified for the semifinal.
Arthur Fils hits Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘Siu’
Arthur Fils entered the Next Gen ATP Finals as the no.1 seed and had a tough first outing against Luca Nardi. A smoother second-round victory saw him face Dominic Stricker in the third round.
Arthur fought hard and despite Stricker levelling things with a second-set victory, the Frenchman secured a hard-fought win and celebrated by performing Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘Siu’ celebration.
Athletes like cricket’s Mohammed Siraj have copied Cristiano’s style, but Arthur Fils brought the footballer’s trademark leap of joy to the tennis court and had social media pondering the recent increase in imitations of other players’ celebrations.
Arthur Fils will face fellow Frenchman Luca Van Assche in the semifinal on Friday. Van Assche, also 19 years old, defeated the no.8, no.6, and no.4 seeds in his first three matches. Although Arthur will be the clear favorite, the match promises ample entertainment for the Saudi Arabian crowd present in the Jeddah stadium, where the tournament takes place.
What are your opinions on Arthur Fils’ imitation of Ronaldo’s celebration? Let us know in the comments section below.
