Stefanos Tsitsipas, last year’s finalist, is out of the French Open. The 4th seed faced off with Holger Rune–the future star who is having a wonderful tournament. Tsitsipas has looked vulnerable and beatable for most of the tournament, and his opponent was too good for him today. The Greek is clearly not at his best, and was outmatched, outmaneuvered, and outhit for the majority of the match.
19-year-old Holger Rune reaches his first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal, and is proving to everyone what a talent he truly is. His next opponent is Casper Ruud, who also reached his first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal on Monday.
Holger Rune Defeats Sefanos Tsitsipas at French Open
Coming into the tournament, Tsitsipas was one of the favorites behind Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Carlos Alcaraz. When the draw was announced, many were certain he had a fairly easy path to the final by avoiding the other three favorites on his side of the draw. Since his first match with Lorenzo Musetti, the Greek just hasn’t seemed like his 2021 French Open self.
Despite going an early break up in the first set, Tsitsipas lost his momentum as the Dane stepped on the gas, fighting back strong to get back on serve. At 5-5 it looked likely the set was heading to a tiebreak, but Rune had other ideas. He played some excellent aggressive tennis, which Tsitsipas couldn’t live with–and Rune broke again.
The 19-year-old didn’t falter at 6-5, and served out the first set.
The second set seemed to be the momentum swing with Tsitsipas remaining calm and collected as Rune went through a dip. The 4th seed looked much more in control, securing a break and taking the second set. It seemed that the match was backing in Tsitsipas’ hands.
However, the young gun wasn’t backing down so easily. A sloppy and loose service game from Tsitsipas was all he needed to secure a break, and he remained unflappable on serve to see out the third set. Rune now led 7-5 3-6 6-3, and the upset was well and truly on the cards.
Rune Gets The Job Done
Holger Rune was even more confident with his two sets to one lead, and kept his foot firmly on the accelerator. Tsitsipas just wasn’t clinical or accurate enough, and the pressure eventually told. Rune broke the Greek’s serve twice, and served for the match at 5-2.
Rune then proceeded to play a very nervy service game and was instantly broken to love. Tsitsipas followed this up with a love hold, forcing the Dane to once again serve out the match.
Facing more break points at 5-4, Rune found some incredible first serves to keep his advantage. After saving multiple break points with clutch serving and winners, the 19-year-old found himself at match point. An excellent point followed, and eventually Tsitsipas overhit a forehand which drifted long – and the match was over.
An incredible performance from this young star who is destined for great things–and he may not be too far behind Carlos Alcaraz after all.
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