Fils Retires With Back Pain in Basel, Handing Fritz a Semi-Final Spot Days Before Paris

Arthur Fils retired from his quarter-final against Taylor Fritz at the Swiss Indoors in Basel on Friday because of lower back pain, sending a worrying signal just three days before the Paris Masters. The French world No. 8 was trailing 6-2, 2-0 when he stopped, handing Fritz a place in the semi-finals, where he will face Valentin Vacherot on Saturday. The problem came a day after a demanding match: on Thursday, Fils needed two hours and 20 minutes to beat Alex Michelsen 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) in the second round. The timing could hardly be worse. The Paris Masters begins on Monday at the Paris La Défense Arena, and Fils is one of the home players the French crowd will most want to see. He is also chasing a place at the ATP Finals in Turin, which run from November 15 to 22, with the top nine in the Race set to qualify following Jannik Sinner's season-ending injury. For Fritz, the win puts him into the semi-finals without having to complete the match, and he is chasing points to boost his own hopes of reaching Turin, where he finished runner-up in 2024. Vacherot reached the last four after beating Holger Rune on Friday, having knocked out third seed Rafael Jódar on Thursday.