It is difficult to separate them as their destinies seem linked, in London during this fortnight and wherever their careers take them. When one plays, the other is never really far away, in the stands or in front of his TV. When one wins, the other arms himself with a healthy ambition to imitate him. Arthur Fils and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard form a friendship so deep that each considers the other “like a brother”. On Thursday, the latter had barely beaten the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (6-4, 6-1, 6-2) that the former, qualified a few hours earlier against the Pole Hubert Hurkacz (7-6 [2]6-4, 2-6, 6-6, ab), had already sent him a message on Snapchat. “We see each other every day, we have dinner together almost every night, we’ve gone on vacation together many times… We’re very close,” summarizes Fils. “He’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were eight or nine years old. Our relationship is strong,” confirms Mpetshi.
