France, March 26 -- Fils, seeded 28, beat the 22nd seed Tommy Paul 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 after two hours and 49 minutes.

In the race to seven points in the final set tiebreaker, Paul breezed into a 6-2 lead.

But Fils reeled off six successive points to claim the tiebreak 8-6 and a place in the last four at one of the nine tournaments considered the most prestigious on the ATP tour after the four Grand Slam events in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York.

Fils revels in fulfilling France Davis Cup dream with Mpetshi Perricard

 "It was a dog fight and I never back down from a fight," said Fils who spent six months last year recovering from a back injury. 

"Even if I lose, it's OK, I just fought the best that I could. That's the best ...