Arthur Fils started fast on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Thursday, but Matteo Berrettini broke him in the seventh game and took the first set, leaving the number 1 French player chasing the third round instead of controlling the match.
That shift mattered because Fils had gone into the day as one of four French players still trying to reach the third round, and this was the clearest live marker of where his effort stood. The opening set had already turned from promise into a setback, with the serve he ceded in the seventh game becoming the hinge of the contest.
Berrettini’s hold on the first set was the kind of break that can change the entire shape of a Wimbledon match. Fils had begun well enough to suggest he could dictate the pace, then lost the one thing he needed most: his service game. From there, the pressure moved onto him, and every point carried more weight.
The wider picture on Thursday was still moving around him. Quentin Halys was on court against Marcos Giron and had already dropped the first set 7-6, while Valentin Royer had gone down 1-6 to Alexander Zverev. Marcos Giron later extended his lead over Halys by winning the second set 6-3, tightening the day for the French side.
There was other attention on Wimbledon as the second round drew to a close, with Kate Middleton and Andy Murray attending and Iga Swiatek beating Karolína Pliskova 6-1, 6-3. Madison Keys also beat Katie Swan in straight sets, but for Fils the immediate question was more basic: whether a strong start could be rescued after the first set slipped away. The first answer was already clear. The next one depended on whether he could reset quickly enough to turn one break against him into a match he could still take.
