French Open: Arthur Fils has a stress fracture in his back. He was France’s last man in the field

PARIS (AP) — Arthur Fils pulled out of the French Open because of a stress fracture in his lower back and could miss Wimbledon while sidelined for at least a month, he explained at a news conference Saturday.

The 14th-seeded Fils, who had been the last man from France in the bracket, announced his withdrawal on Friday without offering details then about the extent of his injury.

“We decided with the team it was better to stop now, because if I’m stopping now, I could stop for only four to six weeks,” the 20-year-old Fils said Saturday. “If I was pushing myself too much, I would probably stop for a couple of months. … Had to make a choice.”

With Fils out, No. 17 Andrey Rublev received a walkover into the fourth round.

Fils had been dealing with back pain for a while, and things got worse during his five-set victory over Jaume Munar on Thursday.

“I gave everything. I couldn’t go for more,” Fils said Saturday. “At the end of the second set, I could feel that the back was not good at all.”

He said he doesn’t think he needs surgery.

Fils knows he’ll need to sit out some tournaments but said he wants to try to be able to compete at Wimbledon, the next Grand Slam tournament, which begins on June 30.

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis