Observe Harold Mayot on court and the conclusions drawn are likely to be vastly different to those made should any time be spent in the company of the teenage Frenchman.

During the eye of the storm, it is fair to say that Mayot might come across as brash and petulant, but away from the heat of battle nothing could be further from the truth. He is mature, charming and engaging.

This is not news to the 17-year-old, who has a tattoo of a lion on his back which he says depicts his intra-match persona. Quizzed further on his love for body art and a sensitive side to his nature emerges.

“The first one I’m going to show you is this one,” he tells itftennis.com, pulling down his t-shirt to reveal his chest. “It says: ‘Forgive but never forget’ and that is a little bit of my story from when I was young.

“My parents are not together now and I think I suffered a bit from that. I have more tattoos but the other main one is a lion on my back. Again, that symbolises me as I try to be a lion on court and be like this.

"The best advice I have ever received is to be yourself and not another person. I try just to be humble, respect everyone, stay clam and give the best of myself.

 "On court, I know I am not very calm and can sometimes be disrespectful with the umpire. I realise this and I am trying to improve as I do not want people to think that I am a bad boy.

"Off court, I am a completely different person, a good person, or at least I certainly try to be.”

In sport, the person behind the player is often ignored or forgotten. In many respects, Mayot considers himself an archetypal teenager, saying: “I am just a normal young man. I like music and cinema. I am also very close to my brother and love spending time with him."

When asked to reveal something very few people would know, Mayot interjects by revealing a fear of snakes. “One day I was running and I encountered some in front of me. I was so scared,” he adds.

But regardless of the topic, there remains a consistent depth to his character. It is unlikely, for instance, that too many people Mayot’s age would offer Wind of Change by Scorpions as their favourite song. After all, it was originally released in 1991 –  a good decade before he was born.

The magic of the moment, a lyric often used within this piece, would appear, from a distance at least, to reflect an enigmatic quality to Mayot’s make up. But however intriguing that is, there is no mystery to his current on-court prowess.

Mayot has enjoyed a blistering few weeks, which has seen him rise to No. 4 in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings presented by IMG Academy behind Denmark’s Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune, Jonas Forejtek of Czech Republic and Japan's Shintaro Mochizuki.

Rune, Forejtek and Mochizuki have all been crowned Junior Grand Slam winners this year, and while that prize has so far eluded Mayot – his best finish in 2019 was reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon – his form would appear on an upward curve.

After winning the boys’ singles at JA Osaka – one half of a French double after Diane Parry triumphed in the girls’ draw – Mayot proceeded to reach the final of last month’s ITF Junior Finals in Chengdu where he fell to Rune.

He has since reached the singles final a M25 Saint Dizier, where he also won the doubles alongside compatriot Antoine Cornut Chauvinc, all of which reflects Metz-born Mayot’s outlook on career progression.

“My ambition is to improve every day, both as a tennis player and as a person,” said Mayot, whose dream, unsurprisingly, is to play on Court Philippe Chatrier. “I am not one of those players who says that I want to win a Grand Slam or will do this or that.

“Obviously I want to compete for the biggest trophies and be in the Top 10 players in the world, then the Top five and aim to be No. 1. But the most important thing is to improve as a person and enjoy my tennis, which is what I try to do every day.”

Mayot started playing tennis aged four, while eight years later he moved to Paris to train with the French Tennis Federation and started to view the sport as a professional calling more than a social pursuit.

He is now under the tutelage of former Top 10 player Thierry Tulasne, someone he holds in incredibly high regard. During his run to the finale of the ITF Junior Finals, Mayot overpowered both Forejtek and Mochizuki and was only too happy to divert the plaudits towards Tulasne.

“I think I am playing the best tennis of career,” said Mayot, who after losing twice to the Dane in Chengdu cited Rune as the toughest opponent he has faced. “In beating Jonas and Shintaro, I overcame two players who have won Junior Grand Slams this year and those were my two best performances.

“I work very hard with my coach and I learn a lot from him. He is like my second father and I truly believe in him. We work very hard together and it’s because of him that I play well.”

While celebrations engulfed Rune following his victory at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre, Mayot cut a forlorn figure slumped on his bench. But even in the throes of defeat, there was a considered response.

“There are always positives to take as well as negatives. Sometimes you can learn as much from defeat as victory, so we will see,” added Mayot.  

No Pain No Gain was another Scorpions song which might have been applicable to Mayot’s mindset at that particular time, while, taking a broader and forward-facing view, New Generation and Top Of The Bill might prove more accurate melodies during the coming years.