BARCELONA, April 20 -- Up-and-coming Frenchman Arthur Fils beat Russian Andrey Rublev 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) to lift the Barcelona clay-court title yesterday with Roland Garros just a month away.

The 21-year-old Fils returned from an eight-month injury absence in February and has been in strong form, finishing as runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz in Doha, before breezing to a fourth trophy of his career yesterday.

"These eight months have been hard," he said. "And now here I am winning a tournament again."

The result will make him France's top-ranked male player after showing poise and maturity to negotiate his way to this ATP 500 title, including fighting from a set down to beat Spanish hope Rafael Jodar in the semi-final.

Yesterday, he went 2-0 d...