Valentin Royer and Quentin Halys were both eliminated during the evening session of the Metz tournament on Monday.
There will be at least five French people in the round of 16 of the ATP 250 in Metz, but Valentin Royer and Quentin Halys are not part of the list. The two tricolors were in fact eliminated this Monday during the evening session of the Moselle tournament. First to enter the court, Valentin Royer (56th) challenged Cameron Norrie, the winner of Carlos Alcaraz at the Rolex Paris Masters.
And the Frenchman resisted well for 2h07, before losing 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. In this match where the two players each signed 10 aces, the Briton showed himself to be even more solid than the Ile-de-France native on his faceoff, not having the slightest break point to defend.
Royer’s great season is over
It was he who won the first set by breaking at 2-1. In the second, Royer saved three break points, and it was ultimately he who pocketed the set in the tie-break, with a score of 7-2. The two men therefore had to decide in a third set, and Norrie started it in the best possible way, breaking on his first opportunity to lead 3-0. The Briton then only lost two points on his throw and was able to conclude this match without trembling. Next opponent: Arthur Cazaux. Valentin Royer’s season ends here (unless Paul-Henri Mathieu calls him into the Davis Cup). And what a season!
Ranked 197th in January, the 24-year-old will finish the year around 57th place.
Halys falls on harder
Quentin Halys (84th) challenged Matteo Berrettini (63rd), and the Italian won with a score of 6-2, 6-4 in 1h03. The former Wimbledon finalist served 7 aces and was never broken during this game. He took the Ile-de-France service at 0-0 and 3-1 to pocket the first set.
In the second, Halys got two 2-0 balls from the start but missed them, and he lost his serve at 3-3, which led to his defeat. Berretini will be opposed to Corentin Moutet or the Australian Vukic. As for Royer, it’s vacation time for Quentin after a season which saw him go from 71st to 90th in the world.
