And if, after Roger (Federer), had come the time of Holger? Holger Rune won, Monday, May 30, the most important victory of his career in the round of 16 at Roland-Garros against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 40th player in the world was not intimidated by the Greek, fourth in the ATP ranking. The 19-year-old Dane managed to beat the odds by eliminating the 2021 finalist in four sets (7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4).
With this success, Rune advances to the quarter-finals, his best Grand Slam career result after just two years on the professional circuit. The former world number one among juniors joins another Scandinavian, the Norwegian Casper Ruud, in the next round.
Bolder and stronger
After an exchange of breaks at the start of the game (3-1 for Tsitsipas, immediately caught by his opponent), the first set finally turned in favor of Holger Rune. Bolder and stronger than his opponent. “I had to play aggressively and quickly”explained the Dane just after the match.
The second round almost took a completely different turn from its beginnings. In the third game, the Dane had three break points which he failed to achieve, against a Stefanos Tsitsipas found in the important points. The world No. 4 later broke Rune in the eighth game, which permanently knocked out his opponent in that set (6-3).
After a balanced start in the third set, the sixth game saw Stefanos Tsitsipas come up short and concede a white break. Holger Rune did not shake to conclude and lead two sets to one (6-3).
Impressive, Rune quickly got the upper hand in the fourth set, breaking his opponent twice. Tsitsipas then for a few minutes became one of the best players on the planet again, scoring nine points in a row to come back to 5-4. Even with three 5-5 downs against him, in a tense final game, Rune never panicked, warding off danger with authority. He ended the game on his first match point. With this victory, Rune reminds that it is not only Carlos Alcaraz, born six days after him, who can shake up the world hierarchy.
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