It was a day of bumps in the French Open. The young Danish Holger Rune, number 40 in the world ranking, eliminated the current Roland Garros runner-up and four in the world, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, in the round of 16, while the Russian Daniil Medvedev (2) was swept off the track by the Croatian Marin Cilic (23). In addition, in the Parisian day, the Polish Iga Swiatek (the 1 of the WTA) lost her first set, although she is already in the quarterfinals.
In the lower part of the table (where neither Djokovic, nor Nadal, nor Alcaraz, nor Zverev are present), Tsitsipas seemed to have everything clear to stand in the final, but ran into the cheeky Rune, 19, who imposed by 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4.
Rune, whom many compare due to his age and his spectacular tennis with the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz (N.6), riddled Tsitsipas with 54 winners and despaired him with 32 drop shots.
Only at the end of the game did it seem that Rune’s pulse was trembling, but he knew how to solve the situation, despite his inexperience in moments like this.
“I was nervous, but I knew I had to stick to my game plan if I was going to give myself a chance,” Rune added, referring to the deciding leg of the fourth set, when Tsitsipas had chances to force a fifth set.
The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas had the way paved, until Rune appeared. Photo: AFP
Rune reaches the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, something that a Danish tennis player has not achieved since 1925. And a player of this nationality has not played the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam since Jan Leschly did it at the 1967 US Open.
Despite his age, Rune was more determined in the decisive moments. For example, after Tsitsipas squandered three break points in the eighth game of the first set, Rune consummated his chance in the 11th game with a forehand crosscourt to beat Tsitsipas’s climb into the net.
Or in the third set, where there was only one ‘break point’… that Rune did not miss.
Even in the fourth set, after being able to lift a 5-2 deficit, Rune saved three balls for 5-5 and did not spare his rival.
Despite standing in the round of 16 without giving up a set, Medvedev was swept off the court by Cilic, who played an almost perfect match: 90% of the points won with the first service, without conceding a single break point, 33 winners ‘ (by 15 from the Russian) and 18 points won at the net (from 25).
“It’s one of the best matches of my career. It was fantastic from start to finish,” admitted Cilic, who at 33 has never made it past the quarter-finals in Paris (he was eliminated both times, in 2017 and 2018). ).
Cilic will face the Russian Andrey Rublev (N.7), who benefited from the withdrawal due to injury of the Italian Jannik Sinner (N.12).
Cilic took out Daniil Medvedev and will now go with Rublev. Photo: EFE
If Rune has made history for Danish tennis, Casper Ruud (N.8 and the only survivor of the Top 10 from the bottom of the table) has done it for the Norwegian, by becoming the first tennis player of this nationality to reach the quarterfinals. Roland Garros final.
Ruud qualified after beating Pole Hubert Hurkacz (N.13) in four sets, 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and has established himself as one of the best players of the season, after scoring in 2022 his 28th victory, for only nine defeats, in addition to two titles (Buenos Aires and Geneva), final in Miami (lost against the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz) and Rome semifinal (defeated by Novak Djokovic).
“It was a goal for me to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final,” said Ruud, who missed the Australian Open earlier this year due to injury.
The women’s quarterfinals have already been defined. After having swept the first three matches, the Polish Iga Swiatek (N.1 in the world) lost her first set against the young Chinese Qinwen Zheng (19 years old), but who was injured in the second set and ended up losing 6-7 (5/7), 6-0 and 6-2.
“She has played incredible tennis, she has really surprised me with some of her shots,” he declared about his rival, of whom he admitted in the preview that he had never seen a match of his, but that other tennis players on the circuit had warned him that “he has Lot of talent”.
It is the 32nd consecutive victory for Swiatek, who came to Paris after winning his last five tournaments played.
Poland’s Iga Swiatek lost her first set. Photo: Reuters
In the quarterfinals, the American Jessica Pegula (N.11), who defeated the Romanian Irina Begu 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, will play.
The last quarter will be played by the Russians Daria Kasatkina (N.20) and Veronika Kudermetova (N.29), who defeated the Italian Camila Giorgi (N.30), by a double 6-2, and the American Madison Keys (N. .22), by 1-6, 6-3 and 6-1, respectively.
If Kasatkina, the twentieth world player, has already reached this level twice in a Grand Slam, one of them at Roland Garros in 2018, it will be the first time for Kudermetova, who had never passed the third round in a major.
