"To be a Champion, you need a lot of ego" — Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

France's No. 2

“To be a Champion, you need a lot of ego. I need it in my career to believe that I was the best or that I could be the best. It does take a lot of ego without faking being humble.

But I think when it came to watching tennis champions, for instance — should it be Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic — you could feel the passion they have for their game. They know their worth as well, but they don’t need to overshow it.

And I think that’s how I live. I don’t need to fake it, to project myself in being better than what I already am. My results speak for myself and I don’t need to build a giant decorum about it. I’m just enjoying the process. I know what I can do. I also know my limitations and I try to improve on that and to get the best results.

But like I said, when I go into a tournament, my plan is to win it. And that does take ego and self-belief… I believe that you need to have confidence in your skills. Also, I found out that it’s better to be too euphoric, to trust too much in your abilities.

It will have some drawbacks, but it’s better than to have too little belief, for sure.”