Skip to content
Court Shark Tennis Desk

Fils vs Munar at the European Open: weighing the history

Fils has won every meeting with Munar, but a close Roland Garros encounter and matching recent records limit how far that history should carry the Brussels prediction.

Share

Arthur Fils's unbeaten record against Jaume Munar deserves weight in Brussels, but their last meeting argues against expecting an easy win. Court Shark gives Fils a 71% chance, close to the market consensus of 72%.

An unbeaten record with a close last chapter

Arthur Fils has the historical edge, not a record of complete control. He leads Jaume Munar 3-0, with victories on both hard courts and clay. That makes the history relevant to Brussels rather than something drawn entirely from a different surface. The hard-court record is only 1-0, however, so the directly comparable evidence is thin.

Their latest meeting needed a decider. At Roland Garros last year, Fils won the opening pair of sets in tiebreaks before Munar took the next pair and forced a decider. Fils eventually won that final set 6-4, a result that supports his ability to finish the matchup without suggesting he controlled it throughout. Munar had drawn level after losing the opening sets.

The format changes the meaning of that encounter. Brussels is best-of-three on hard courts, rather than the longer clay contest they played in Paris, so the same sequence cannot simply be projected forward. My reading is that the previous meetings strengthen Fils's case as favorite, while the latest encounter weakens any claim that Munar lacks a competitive route.

Head-to-head by surface

Article snapshot, Oct 19, 2026 · Not live

Arthur Fils and Jaume Munar have met 3 times. Arthur Fils leads 3-0.

Head-to-head record, Arthur Fils first
SurfaceArthur FilsJaume Munar
All surfaces30
Hard10
Clay20
Source: Court Shark model and match data.

Munar's recent results keep the comparison competitive

Recent form offers less separation. Both players have a 7-3 record across their latest ten matches, and their latest ten on hard courts produce the same split. Those matching records make it difficult to argue that the historical loser arrives in clearly worse form. They also make present performance a necessary counterweight to the earlier meetings.

Munar's Tokyo run included wins over Taylor Fritz and Marcos Giron before a defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. He then lost to Jenson Brooksby in Shanghai but opened in Brussels by beating Federico Cina. Those results give his challenge substance beyond his previous encounter with Fils. The win over Fritz, in particular, came after Munar lost the opening set.

Fils also put together a productive Tokyo run, beating Frances Tiafoe before losing to Valentin Vacherot, then splitting his Shanghai matches. His ranking of No. 11 against Munar's No. 49 still establishes a clear difference in their current standing. I would read those rankings alongside the matching recent records: Fils has the stronger position, but Munar's form does not support treating the matchup as settled before play begins.

Recent form

Article snapshot, Oct 19, 2026 · Not live

Each player's most recent completed matches, up to 10, oldest on the left.

Recent results by player, oldest first
PlayerDateResultOpponentScoreEvent
Arthur FilsAug 22, 2026WFlavio Cobolli6-3 6-4Cincinnati Masters
Arthur FilsAug 23, 2026WFrances Tiafoe6-3 1-6 6-0Cincinnati Masters
Arthur FilsAug 31, 2026LStefanos Tsitsipas6-4 6-7(3) 1-6 4-6US Open
Arthur FilsSep 28, 2026WMartin Damm2-6 6-1 6-1Tokyo
Arthur FilsSep 29, 2026WKamil Majchrzak6-2 3-6 6-1Tokyo
Arthur FilsSep 30, 2026WLuca Van Assche6-3 6-2Tokyo
Arthur FilsOct 2, 2026WFrances Tiafoe6-3 7-5Tokyo
Arthur FilsOct 4, 2026LValentin Vacherot5-7 6-4 4-6Tokyo
Arthur FilsOct 10, 2026WPavel Kotov6-3 6-4ATP Shanghai
Arthur FilsOct 12, 2026LBotic Van De Zandschulp5-7 4-6ATP Shanghai
Jaume MunarSep 11, 2026WRaul Brancaccio2-6 6-1 6-1Seville CH
Jaume MunarSep 12, 2026LFacundo Diaz Acosta6-4 3-6 6-7(1)Seville CH
Jaume MunarSep 28, 2026WMarcos Giron5-7 6-1 6-4Tokyo
Jaume MunarSep 29, 2026WAleksandar Kovacevic6-2 6-3Tokyo
Jaume MunarOct 1, 2026WTaylor Fritz6-7(7) 6-4 6-3Tokyo
Jaume MunarOct 2, 2026WJaime Faria6-1 6-1Tokyo
Jaume MunarOct 4, 2026WKyrian Jacquet6-4 6-2Tokyo
Jaume MunarOct 5, 2026LCarlos Alcaraz7-5 3-6 1-6Tokyo
Jaume MunarOct 8, 2026LJenson Brooksby5-7 4-6ATP Shanghai
Jaume MunarOct 19, 2026WFederico Cina6-4 6-3ATP Brussels
Source: Court Shark model and match data.

Watch whether Fils protects his service games

Serve is the useful test. On hard courts, Fils has held 86% of his service games compared with Munar's 81% in their available statistical samples. Their return success is much closer, which makes Fils's ability to keep his own games secure a more persuasive current distinction than the unbeaten history alone. That is the advantage I would watch first.

If Fils holds comfortably, Munar will have fewer openings to turn competitive passages into a lead. Repeated pressure on Fils's serve would change that reading, especially if Munar can protect his own games at the same time. Those are conditions to watch during the match, not claims about a tactical pattern established by their previous encounters. The Paris score establishes a contest, not its technical cause.

The likeliest individual result is Fils winning in straight sets at 49%, while a deciding-set victory for him accounts for 22%. That distinction matters: being the favorite does not make a short win the majority expectation. The strength of Fils's service games in Brussels will offer an immediate test of whether his advantage is holding.

Ways to win

Article snapshot, Oct 19, 2026 · Not live

Every way the match can finish. The likeliest single result is Arthur Fils in straight sets (49%).

Chance of each final set score
ResultChance
Arthur Fils wins 2-049%
Arthur Fils wins 2-122%
Jaume Munar wins 2-114%
Jaume Munar wins 2-015%
Source: Court Shark model and match data.

Explore this matchup

Compare both players side by side: recent results, surfaces, serve and return.

Player comparison

Article snapshot, Oct 19, 2026 · Not live

Each measure on the same scale: recent wins, wins on this surface, head-to-head wins and the model's chance.

Player comparison
MeasureArthur FilsJaume Munar
Wins, last 10 matches70% (7-3)70% (7-3)
Wins, last 10 on hard70% (7-3)70% (7-3)
Head-to-head wins100% (3-0)0% (0-3)
Model win probability71%29%
Source: Court Shark model and match data.

Win rate by surface

Article snapshot, Oct 19, 2026 · Not live

Share of matches won on each surface across each player's last 50 matches with full statistics.

Win rate by surface
SurfaceArthur FilsJaume Munar
Hard73% (27-10)59% (19-13)
Clay82% (9-2)46% (6-7)
GrassToo few matches (2)40% (2-3)
Source: Court Shark model and match data.

Serve and return on hard courts

Article snapshot, Oct 19, 2026 · Not live

How often each player held serve and broke serve on hard over their last 50 matches with full statistics, against the tour's all-years average on the surface.

Hold and break rates on hard
MeasureArthur FilsJaume MunarTour average, all years
Service games held86%81%77%
Return games broken24%23%23%
Matches in sample3732
Source: Court Shark model and match data.

Model and market on Arthur Fils

Article snapshot, Oct 19, 2026 · Not live

Arthur Fils's chance as the market consensus priced it from the opening line, next to the Court Shark model.

Arthur Fils's chance to win
ReadingArthur FilsJaume Munar
Opening consensus70%30%
Latest consensus72%28%
Court Shark model71%29%
Source: Court Shark model and pre-match market consensus.

Model win probability

Article snapshot, Oct 19, 2026 · Not live

The Court Shark model's chance for each player to win this match.

Model win probability by player
PlayerWin probabilityRecent form (last 10)
Arthur Fils71%7-3
Jaume Munar29%7-3
Source: Court Shark model and match data.

How long it could go

Article snapshot, Oct 19, 2026 · Not live

A 58% chance the match lasts 18 to 28 games; 22 is the middle of the range.

Chance of each total number of games in the match
Total gamesChance
130.6%
141.5%
153.4%
165.3%
177.8%
188.2%
198.4%
207.7%
215.3%
227.3%
235.2%
241.4%
253.3%
264.1%
273.1%
283.6%
293.8%
303.8%
314.0%
323.7%
332.4%
341.7%
352.1%
361.2%
370.2%
380.4%
390.3%
Source: Court Shark model and match data.

Service games held: where they stand

Article snapshot, Oct 19, 2026 · Not live

Each dot is one of the ATP top 100 with enough matches in the last 52 weeks. Arthur Fils is 16th of 94; Jaume Munar is 61st of 94.

Service games held, last 52 weeks, against the ATP top 100
PlayerService games heldPlace
Arthur Fils86.3%16th of 94
Jaume Munar79.8%61st of 94
Field median81.8%
Field best (Jannik Sinner)94.6%1st
Source: Court Shark model and match data.

Two years of form

Article snapshot, Oct 19, 2026 · Not live

Each player's pre-match Elo rating since Oct 20, 2024. Latest: Arthur Fils 2150 (Oct 12, 2026), Jaume Munar 1949 (Oct 8, 2026).

Pre-match Elo rating over the last two years
PlayerStart of windowTwo-year peakLatest
Arthur Fils1991 (Oct 23, 2024)2166 (Oct 4, 2026)2150 (Oct 12, 2026)
Jaume Munar1846 (Oct 20, 2024)1959 (Oct 25, 2025)1949 (Oct 8, 2026)
Source: Court Shark model and match data.
Explore this matchup

Court Shark win probabilities are statistical estimates, not advice. No outcome is guaranteed.

Methodology and sources

How we build model estimates and where our information comes from.

Model estimates and observed results

The win probabilities come from the Court Shark match model, trained on completed ATP and WTA matches. A probability says how often a player in this position wins, not that one result will happen. The model's number for a match is recorded before play and never changed afterwards, so it can be checked against the result.

Sources and citations

Results, scores, rankings and serve statistics come from the Court Shark match database. The market consensus is the pre-match price for each player converted to a probability. Figures in this article are a snapshot taken when it was written.

Limitations

Serve and return rates count only matches with full serve statistics, which are sparser for Challenger and lower-level events, and the tour average they are compared with covers every year on record. Head-to-head records count every meeting with a recorded winner, walkovers and retirements included. Charts and tables are a snapshot and do not update after publication.

About the desk

Who works on the Tennis Desk and how an article is put together. Read about the desk

Editorial standards

What we publish, what we check and how we decide what is fit to print. Read our standards

Corrections

Spotted an error? Write to hello@courtshark.ai and we will correct it and note the change. Read the corrections policy

Share this analysis

Email