PARIS, May 23 (Reuters) - ⁠French hopes for a title at Roland Garros suffered a blow even ⁠before the year's second Grand Slam got underway as world number ‌19 Arthur Fils withdrew on Saturday with pain because of a hip issue.

The 21-year-old had marked himself as a contender for the French Open title after lifting the Barcelona crown and making the ​Madrid semi-finals, though he retired from Rome this ⁠month while trailing Andrea Pellegrino in ⁠the second round.