Holger Rune on THAT tweener: ‘I thought I looked like Roger Federer’
Holger Rune produced the shot of the tournament at the 2025 Indian Wells Open, but he jokingly admitted afterwards that there was one disappointing element to it.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the hot favourite heading into their last-16 match at the ATP Masters 1000 event as he was fresh from winning the ATP 500 Dubai Tennis Championships a fortnight ago.
Rune, meanwhile, came into the Indian Wells event on the back of a bout of food poisoning that saw him withdraw from the Mexican Open.
The Dane was the aggressor in the opening set as he broke twice, including to love in the ninth game, to take a one-set lead.
Tsitsipas looked to work his way back in the second set and was leading 15-40 on Rune’s serve in game eight when the moment of magic was produced.
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After the Greek lobbed him, the 12th seed raced back and produced a hot shot [tweener] that landed just in and evaded his opponent, much to the delight of the fans on Court 1.
It was reminiscent of Roger Federer’s famous tweener against Novak Djokovic at the 2009 US Open, but Rune was first to admit it didn’t quite match that feat.
Asked about his brilliant shot during the post-match press conference, the 21-year-old replied: “I think it felt better on the court, actually, but it also looked good on the phone, definitely.
“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.”
That piece of brilliance sparked his recovery in that game as he saved two break points and held serve to open a 5-3 lead before eventually serving out the match.
He later added on the Tennis Channel: “That was such an important moment. I saw him hit that lob and I was like, ‘go out, go out, go out! It just clicked on the baseline and I thought, ‘what am I going to do?’ The first instinct was just to hit the tweener.
“I hit it to try to make it, but I didn’t expect it to land in… I hit that shot and it was just unbelievable. I think it’s one of the better tweeners I’ve hit in my life.”
SHOT OF THE TOURNAMENT @holgerrune2003 what have you done #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/2JY9HsYtLL
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 11, 2025
The 6-4, 6-4 victory helped Rune to extend his head-to-head record against Tsitispas to 4-0 and he was asked if there is a saying in the dressing for players who have won three or more matches in a row against the same opponent.
“What people say is that once you beat someone three times in a row you become his dad,” he laughingly answered. “It’s kind of silly to say and hopefully I will try not to make [Tallon] Griekspoor my dad on Thursday.”
Dutchman Griekspoor, who stunned top seed Alexander Zverev in the second round, has a 2-0 record against Rune with wins in Hamburg in 2022 and the 2024 Madrid Open.
The win over world No 9 Tsitsipas was Rune’s first top-10 victory on an outdoor hard court and he could return to the top 10 himself if he enjoys an extended run in Indian Wells.
After reaching a career-high No 4 in 2023, the Dane failed to live up to the expectations last year and slipped to No 17 at one point.
“I have learned my lessons. Things don’t happen without a reason. I think every player deserve to be where they are, so I deserve to be at my ranking. Whoever is at their ranking deserve it because it’s about, you know, making results, but at the same time improving your game and having stability,” he said.
“I think, you know, what I have done much better in this tournament so far is my mentality. Been more consistent there. This also results in, you know, better results and a more consistent game, I would say.
“Because I don’t believe I have become the worse player the last two years. I actually think the opposite. I think I have become a better all-around player.”
