I had an affair with Valentin not too long ago. I can confidently say that the tennis court isn’t the only place where he excels. 🫦💋

 

I enjoy watching Royer play, he has a great serve and forehand, moves well and is very resilient and focused. It's a shame the surfaces have been slowing down in the last 10 years, Chengdu and Hangzhou are basically the fastest of all the outdoor courts, so there are fewer and fewer players with this style ......

 

Looks like Royer took a page out of Atmane's book. He's now 7 spots behind him and if he wins he will end up 7 spots ahead of Terence.

Good stuff from the French, happy that he really backed up that win against Rublo.

 

Looks like Royer took a page out of Atmane's book. He's now 7 spots behind him and if he wins he will end up 7 spots ahead of Terence.

Good stuff from the French, happy that he really backed up that win against Rublo.

Atmane fluked, whereas Royer has been consistently building towards this. I don't think they're comparable at all.

 

Incredible run! Still in the Jingshan Challenger draw (starts September 22nd) as first seed.

 

I suspect he will pull out and get some rest to prepare for Shanghai. He's in the qualifying draw there.

 

It's a great surface for Royer. Very fun performance.

Moutet's attitude was as Saraya described. Absolutely dreadful, but what else can we expect?

 

What a result!!! Royer through to his first ATP final and I think it will be the first of many. The guy has one of the most exciting, attacking games I've seen in a while and he has a great career ahead of him.

Up to #75 in the live rankings and he has virtually nothing to defend for the rest of the year.

 

I have to confess this was my first time watching Royer but I was impressed with him. He seems to have a very well-rounded skillset - good serve, hits the ball very hard off both wings, very good at attacking with the FH, seemed to be constructing points well and to have a good sense of when to pull the trigger, not afraid to come into the net. Decent movement - maybe not the fastest in terms of bursts of speed, but good footwork to put himself in position (all those little steps accentuated by the sound of squeaky shoes that I detest at this time of year, but that's hardly his fault!) Also defended well and coped well with Moutet's tricks, even though Moutet really wasn't at his best, game-wise or behaviour-wise.

I was even more impressed by Royer's attitude, especially in contrast to what was happening on the other side of the net. Kind words for Moutet and led the applause for him in the post-match interview (the crowd joining in politely but with less enthusiasm). Came across as very mature and seemed to have a good handle on how to manage himself. Remained composed until he had to sign the camera, then had a blank when he couldn't think what to write and giggled at himself, which was quite endearing.

I read up a bit about him. He spent most of his formative years in Eastern Europe (Czechia, Poland and Serbia), moved around because of his father's work for a supermarket chain. Left home at 13 and trained at the Tipsarevic Academy. Was a top 10 junior. Thinks that he had the foundation in place in terms of his game, fitness and his work ethic and that he has had a breakthrough this year because something clicked for him mentally. His motto is 'Hard work pays off.'

Here is something he said about the work ethic instilled in him during his experiences in Eastern Europe. “The major thing that stands out in Eastern Europe is this work ethic. They are not afraid to work. Most often, these guys play tennis not just for fun, but to live. They really want to succeed in life through tennis. It’s a little bit like just work, or die. It brought me work discipline that sometimes in western Europe we are not used to.”