A first victory against a top 20 for Royer: "Only hard work pays off"

Valentin Royer surprised the tennis world by defeating Andrey Rublev in Hangzhou. In his post-match interview, he revealed how his mental preparation made all the difference.

Royer delivered an outstanding performance in the round of 16 of the Hangzhou tournament. Facing the number 1 seed, Andrey Rublev (14th in the world), the Frenchman managed to win in straight sets (6-4, 7-6), securing his very first career victory against a top 20 player.

After the match, the 88th ranked ATP player shared his thoughts on the encounter. He will face Learner Tien for a spot in the semifinals on Saturday in the Chinese tournament.

"I had to play almost the best tennis of my life. It's a match of very high quality, but there are still quite a few things to improve, particularly on returns, and a bit on movement as well.

I didn't just hit winning shots on the lines with my eyes closed! I didn't do anything exceptional in the tiebreak. I just played my game. And I served quite well. It's true that before, whenever there was a tiebreak, I tended to stress and not apply the game plan correctly.

This time, the work with my mental coach paid off to stay in contact, maintain pressure, keep the game plan in mind, and most importantly, stay committed. Today, I believe all the accumulated work, the hours spent on serving, returning, mental preparation, talking, having doubts, and questioning, has paid off. It proves there is no mystery, only hard work pays off," Royer stated to L’Équipe.