PARIS — Arthur Phils was pulled out of the French opening due to a stress fracture in his lower back and could miss Wimbledon while on the sidelines for at least a month, he explained at a press conference on Saturday.
Phil, the 14th seed who was the last man from France in Brackett, announced his withdrawal on Friday without providing details on the extent of his injury.
“If it was stopped right now, I only had four to six weeks to stop, so I decided it would be better to stop now,” Phil, 20, said on Saturday. “If I was pushing myself too much, I would probably stop for a few months. … I had to make a choice.”
On Fils Out, No. Andrey Rublev of 17 received Walkover in the fourth round.
Phil had been dealing with back pain for a while, but things got worse during his victory with Jham Munar five sets on Thursday.
“I gave it everything. I couldn’t go any further,” Phils said Saturday. “At the end of the second set, I could feel my back wasn’t good at all.”
He said he didn’t think surgery was necessary.
Phil knows he needs to sit in several tournaments, but he says he wants to be able to compete at Wimbledon, the next Grand Slam tournament that begins on June 30th.
