Holger Rune has reached the Indian Wells quarter-finals for a second consecutive year, and he did it in style.
Rune has struggled with illness in recent weeks, but appears to have overcome that after beating in-form player Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas had won the Dubai Tennis Championships prior to Indian Wells, building up to a seven-match winning streak before facing Rune.
The Dane was able to beat Tsitsipas in straight sets, and had fans off their feet after hitting an impressive shot in the second set.
Holger Rune ‘tweener’ called ‘shot of the tournament’ at Indian Wells
At 4-3 up in the second set, Rune faced two break points as Tsitsipas tried to get things back on level terms.
The 21-year-old appeared to be in a difficult position during the next point, but facing away from the court managed to hit a lob from between his legs out of the reach of Tsitsipas.
Rune lapped up the crowd support on Stadium One, and it was not just fans inside the arena that were enjoying his court craft.
One fan on X (formerly known as Twitter) made an early prediction that this would be the standout shot of the 2025 season.
They said, “Shot of the year.”
Another social media user exclaimed, “WHAT A SHOT!”
An additional person praised Rune for going for such a difficult shot when facing break points.
They said, “Playing all that while defending breakpoints. Holger you’re BRAVE.”
One other person said, “I was Left speechless, this right here is a break every other day. Holger Rune unbelievable.”
Holger Rune says he felt like Roger Federer when hitting tweener
Rune has spoken about Roger Federer and his admiration for the 20-time major winner in the past.
While he was still proud of his shot, Rune admitted in his post-match press conference that when watching the shot back he did not look like Federer as much as he felt in the moment.
“I think it felt better on the court, actually, but it also looked good on the phone, definitely,” said Rune.
“You know, I kind of, you know, had the expectation that I looked like Roger Federer when I hit it, and I didn’t quite do that. So that was disappointing, you know. Definitely felt better (smiling).”
Rune will now look to achieve his best result at Indian Wells, with his upcoming quarter-final against world number 43 Tallon Griekspoor.
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