Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune became this Monday, if he was not already, the great revelation of the current edition of Roland Garros. The 19-year-old Dane and number 40 in the world won in four sets (7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4 in three hours) the fourth seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas and He will face the Norwegian Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals, who also defeated the Pole Hubert Hurkacz in four sets (6-2, 6-3, 3-6 and 6-3 in 2h31).
Rune has exploited all his talent in the clay season, with his first title won in Munich, where he eliminated Alexander Zverev way to the final that he beat Botic van de Zandschulp, and the semifinals in Lyon, where he was stopped by Cameron Norrie. He had never participated in the French Grand Slam, and had not made it past the first round at the US Open last year or the Australian Open this season. In November 2021 he competed in the NextGen ATP Finals and lost to Carlos Alcaraz, a rival of his generation with whom he had previously met in lower categories and who was surpassed by the Murcian. Away from the clay tour, his campaign had not been very impressive (his record is 16-10), but in Paris he already broke through by beating Denis Shapovalov in the first round. He is the first Dane to reach the quarterfinals in the history of the French event. The last one to do it in a major was Jan Leschly at the 1967 US Open. Thanks to his triumph, there will be two teenagers (in another it is Alcaraz) in the penultimate round of a Slam for the first time since Roland Garros 1994 (Dreekmann and Andrey Medvedev, who were 19).
Against Tsitsipas he delivered a sensational and courageous performance with 54 winners. “Part of my tactic was to play as aggressive as possible, because Stefanos attacks every ball. Drop shots were also part of the plan, ”he revealed after explaining how it felt to give the campaign against the Greek, who had reached at least the quarterfinals of the tournament for two years and who in 2021 was a finalist and had Djokovic on the ropes. “I have an incredible feeling. I was very nervous at the end, but the people helped me a lot.” His mother, who follows him everywhere, is a fundamental part of Holger’s success: “My mother and my entire team are why I am here today and I am very grateful to everyone.” Now he is a dangerous rival for anyone, because he is playing the best tennis of his life.