Holger Rune shocks Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach French Open quarter-finals

At a time when the established group of younger men’s tennis players should be making their move, an even newer generation has emerged doing everything in their power to stop them.

Holger Rune caused the biggest upset of the men’s draw so far as the 19-year-old outplayed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach a grand slam quarter-final for the first time in his career on his French Open debut. In the process, the bottom half of the men’s draw has swung wide open. Tsitsipas, last year’s finalist and the third seed, had been the favourite to return to the final.

Like Tsitsipas, Rune is a student of the Mouratoglou Academy, where he has trained since his early teens, and a contest against its talisman carried greater significance. Throughout the match, he continually pressured Tsitsipas with deep, consistent returns that landed at his opponent’s laces and forced him to retreat. Rune served well in the important moments and moved up to the baseline when he could, finishing with 54 winners in total. Most notably, he peppered Tsitsipas with delicate and well-timed drop shots.

As Rune tried to serve out Tsitsipas in the fourth set, he finally felt the weight of the moment. He led 5-2 with two breaks, only to lose eight points in a row and find himself desperately trying to hold on to his lead. He recovered, saved the break points and advanced.

Such a result has been coming. While the success of Carlos Alcaraz has overshadowed all else, Rune has quietly made rapid progress. Twelve months ago he was ranked 313rd a week before he won the first of four ATP Challenger titles last year. He claimed his first ATP title in Munich this month as a wildcard and this result will propel him into the top 30. In his first round match