"I insulted everyone": Valentin Royer breaks down, gets back up, and aims for his first ATP title
He smashed rackets, blew up during a match, lost control. And yet, Valentin Royer is one match away from clinching his first ATP title. At 24, the Frenchman is experiencing a season that could change the course of his career but also reveal the man behind the player.
Ranked 88th in the world, he is playing his first ATP final in Hangzhou, China. In an interview with L'Equipe, the Frenchman reflected on his daily mental battle.
"Mentally, I'm a person who goes in all directions. On a daily basis, my brain is working at a thousand miles an hour, I think about several things at once. On the court, I have a lot of energy, but you have to know how to contain that energy in pressure moments of a match, and that's all the mental work we've done with my coach and my physical trainer.
I broke rackets, I lost control, I insulted everyone. I wanted to move up to the next level this year. However, nothing is certain. Maybe tomorrow there'll be something that tries to make me lose my temper. It will be a new challenge."
In the final, Royer will face Alexander Bublik, ranked 19th in the world, a flamboyant player with a devastating serve. It will be their first confrontation, a duel between two unpredictable and explosive players.
Hangzhou 
