A passionate celebration led to an impromptu shirt removal, which in turn sparked a heated tug-of-war between the sexes, following Arthur Fils’ thrilling five-set victory over Spain’s Jaume Munar on Thursday in the second round of the French Open.
Fils took his shirt off and threw it into the crowd. Which prompted tennis legend John McEnroe, who was commenting on the event, to quip, “If I had a body like that, I would take my shirt off also.”
The scene of jubilation turned into one of heated confrontation in the stands, however, as a man in an orange hat refused to relinquish Fils’ shirt to a woman who was determined to have it.
“The No. 14-seeded Fils, who overcame a back injury suffered during the third set, pulled out the win after a roller-coaster four hours and 25 minutes, earning a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 2-6, 0-6, 6-4 victory,” the New York Post reports.
Fils now faces a very challenging third-round matchup against No. 17 seed Andrey Rublev.
Rublev won his second-round match against Adam Walton in straight sets, 7-6 (1), 6-1, 7-6 (5). The match between Fils and Rubiev is scheduled for Saturday, with the winner likely to face top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the Round of 16.
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