Holger Rune Downs Tsitsipas in Roland Garros Upset

Holger Rune – the unseeded 19-year-old from Denmark and 40^th in the world – took down Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets.

Only last year, Tsitsipas climbed to the Roland Garros final before being beaten by Novak Djokovic. As the number 4 seed, Tsitsipas’s departure marks a significant shakeup in the draw, as the field narrows to the quarter-finals without one of its top players.

The Greek had a relatively smooth ride to his fourth-round match against Rune, with a couple of minor scares against Lorenzo Musetti in the first round and Zdeněk Kolář in the second, though he quickly reasserted his dominance.

Rune had practised his strategy before meeting Tsitsipas during his first-round match against Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday.

In both, Rune at times played with aggression, staying tight to the baseline and going for winners down the line.

But in the main, he took an extremely defensive position, standing a foot or more behind the line, taking his time to rally the ball back to his opponent. Gathering momentum and feel for his groundstrokes, Rune would calmly wait until an unforced error gifted him the point or opened the chance to attack.

Rune vs Shapovalov, 2022 French Open, First-Round

In frustration, Shapovalov, and later Tsitsipas, would try an approach shot before a volley. But Rune had opened up space available to him due to his defensive location and easily made a successful passing shot.

Tsitsipas attempted the drop shot, trying to take advantage of his opponent’s distant position. But Rune was energetic and fast on the clay, managing to reach the ball in time.

In the fourth set, Rune broke early for 3-2, taking Tsitsipas’s serve to his backhand exceptionally early. He blocked it towards the Greek, who fumbled the ball due to its return speed.

After patiently constructing the point, Rune had some winners of his own, especially on the forehand. He managed to win the set, defeating Tsitsipas 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Rune vs Tsitsipas, 2022 French Open, Fourth-Round

Sinner Faces Untimely Exit at Roland Garros

In an unfortunate turn of events, Italian favourite and number 11 seed Jannik Sinner had to withdraw from the tournament halfway through his match with number 7 seed Andrey Rublev.

This fourth-round event began as a vicious fight between two players with potent forehands, able to play the shot at speed, both with and without topspin.

Each tried to take the ball early on the return of serve and dominate with the forehand right from the outset of the rally.

The points were generally kept short with a few extended rallies, one player attacking the other’s backhand, waiting for a chance to attack down the line.

But on Sinner’s serve at 1-2 during the second set, he appeared to be struggling with a tender knee. The injury persisted, and Sinner had to withdraw from the match, handing Rublev the win, 1-6, 6-4, 2-0.

Djokovic and Nadal Set Up Grand Slam Clash

The defending champion Novak Djokovic and 13-time winner Rafael Nadal won their fourth-round matches and will battle for a place in the semi-finals on Tuesday night.

Djokovic overcame Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-3, 6-3, while Nadal had a lengthy tussle against Canadian young-gun Felix Auger-Aliassime, but finally prevailed, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Nadal vs Auger-Aliassime, 2022 French Open, Fourth-round

Last year was just the third time Nadal had been defeated at Roland Garros.

Tactically, Tuesday’s match will be interesting in seeing what Nadal has learned from his more recent encounters with Djokovic and whether the Serb will repeat his approach.

His blend of a heavy topspin and powerful forehand, a flat backhand down the line, and his signature French Open drop shot outmanoeuvred Nadal, who will not want to pass up the chance of another Roland Garros final next week.

How far will Rune’s current level take him in the tournament? How does Rublev’s attacking style match up to the rest of the field left in the draw? And who will win in the titanic battle between Djokovic and Nadal? Leave your comments below.