Danish teenager Holger Rune has eliminated 2021 French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach his first major quarterfinal in his Roland Garros debut. (More Tennis News)
The 40th-ranked Rune beat fourth-seeded Tsitsipas 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday.
Tsitsipas is the first member of the top eight seeds to leave the men’s bracket.
Rune never had won a Grand Slam match until last week, going 0-2 in previous appearances at the sport’s top four events.
But the hard-hitting 19-year-old now joins sixth-seeded Carlos Alcaraz to make this the first Slam tournament with two teenagers in the men’s quarterfinals since Hendrik Dreekmann and Andrei Medvedev at the 1994 French Open.
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Rune had a bit of trouble closing things out against Tsitsipas after going up 5-2 in the fourth set. Rune dropped nine points in a row and his lead narrowed to 5-4. Then he needed to save three break points before serving out the biggest victory of his career.
Rune will play No. 8 seed Casper Ruud of Norway for a semifinal berth.
Casper Ruud Enters Maiden Grand Slam Quarter-final
Casper Ruud has reached the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career by beating Hubert Hurkacz 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 at Roland Garros.
The eighth-seeded Ruud is the first man from Norway to get to the round of eight at the French Open.
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Ruud will face the winner of the fourth-round match between 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune, a 19-year-old from Denmark.
The 12th-seeded Hurkacz was a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year. He had lost in the first round of the French Open in three consecutive appearances.
