SEVILLA, September 6, 2023
Valentin Royer of France has reached the quarterfinals of the LV Copa Sevilla by securing the biggest win of his career. The World No. 335 upset Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta, fourth seed of the ATP Challenger Tour 125 tournament being held on yellow clay, 6-4, 7-6(7) on Wednesday.
On a sunny afternoon at the Real Club de Tenis Betis in Sevilla, Royer showed a decent performance with solid ground strokes and impressed with mental strengths in difficult situations. The 22-year-old from Neuilly-sur-Seine, who battled through the qualifying and benefited from the retirement of Hernan Casanova in the first round of the main draw, broke his rival’s serve two times and saved two set points in the tie-break of the second set to seal victory in one hour and 59 minutes.
“He is a strong player, so I needed to stay focused and calm. I served well and kept the coolness. I am super happy with the match. It has been the biggest win of my career so far,” Royer told Tennis TourTalk. “Playing on the yellow clay is pretty strange at the beginning. It’s a different feeling with the sliding but you are getting used to it. Now, I like it very much, as the balls bounce pretty high.”
Royer, a winner of four titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour, two of them this season in Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal and Rabat, Morocco, considers his serve as well as the forehand as his best shots. “I fight for every point. I also work on the mental parts. Nowadays it’s a big part of the game. Today I stayed calm when I faced break points in the first set and set points in the second. I just try to accept it, that’s how it goes.”
The French is coached by his compatriot Julien Gillet and is based in Montpellier. “Julien worked with a couple of players in the past. He raised Arthur Cazaux to his best level and now he is with me. He is also my fitness coach and I am pretty happy because he is making me work and sweat a lot,” Royer explained with a smile.
“We have a lot of good French players ranked inside the Top 150. This forces me to raise my level every day. All of them can play decent tennis and I work every day to reach their level. By keeping this regularity every day, I am sure that it will work out,” he said and added that getting into the main draw of the Australian Open is his main goal.
Royer is a fan of nautical sports. He lists wakeboarding, reading and video games as his hobbies. Visiting the cities, where the tournaments take place is also part of his routines.
“I have never been to Sevilla but I heard it is a beautiful city,” said Royer, who will take on No. 5 seed Timofey Skatov in the quarterfinals. The 129th-ranked from Kazakhstan fought past his compatriot Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 25 minutes.
Hemery knocks out Cachin
Later in the evening, Calvin Hemery upset No. 2 seed Pedro Cachin of Argentina 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(3). The World No. 300 from France withstood six aces from his opponent and broke Cachin’s serve two times to prevail after two hours and 26 minutes.
“I was 5-2 up in the third set and had many opportunities to end the match but I stayed focused,” Hemery told Tennis TourTalk. “I tried to belive in myself and it works. I am very happy.”
Hemery will next challenge Pablo Llamas Ruiz, who emerged victorious from the all-Spanish battle with Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo, rallying 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 19 minutes.
Enjoying the home support!
Crowd favourite Pablo Llamas Ruiz 🇪🇸 from nearby Jerez de la Frontera books his spot in the @CopaSevillaCh quarterfinals following a three-set win over Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo. #ATPChallenger #CopaSevillaChallenger pic.twitter.com/XaeFUWz4qa
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) September 6, 2023
In other action, Elias Ymer defeated No. 7 seed Pedro Martinez of Spain 7-5, 6-3. The 27-year-old from Sweden won 56 per cent of the total points played to advance in one hour and 36 minutes. Up next for Ymer will be top seed Roberto Carballes Baena from Spain, a 6-2, 6-1 winner over local qualifier Carlos Lopez Montagud.
Alessandro Giannessi of Italy beat #NextGenATP Spaniard Daniel Rincon 7-6(3), 6-0 in two hours and seven minutes and will oppose fifth favourite Hugo Gaston in the stage of the final eight. The 22-year-old Frenchman eliminated local wild card entry Carlos Taberner 6-1, 6-4. The encounter lasted one hour and 35 minutes.
