Rune saves MP to complete Indian Wells quarter-finalists, ‘excited’ for Medvedev clash

Dane Holger Rune, the No 7 seed, moved into the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters by winning against American Taylor Fritz, the No 12 seed, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Wednesday night.

The clash was a true match of two halves, with Rune being well and truly outplayed by Fritz across the course of the first two sets. Down match point at 4-5 in the second set, the Dane was able to tap into a new level of raw power, however, and pull himself back from the brink.

“It was crazy, I really just stayed in the moment, kept fighting,” said Rune after the match. “I thought I raised my level at the end of the second set, which made a big difference on the match.”

Rune back from the brink to make first Indian Wells quarter-final

After a tight opening four games, this match swung heavily in favour of home star Fritz.

Playing in front of a raucous Californian crowd, the world No 12 raced through the remainder of the first set, winning 16 of the last 19 points to claim the opener 6-2. It seemed as though the momentum would continue with the American receiving another break point on Rune’s first service game, but the 20-year-old managed to hang on early in the second set.

Rune did well to make Fritz play more on his own serve, with Fritz playing 30 more points on serve in the second set. This made a difference when it came to the second set tiebreaker, which Rune was able to win convincingly, racing past his opponent 7-1 to set up a deciding set.

With the prospect of being the first ever Dane into the Indian Wells quarter-finals before him, Rune tapped into an impressive level of power an began blasting Fritz off the court. At one stage the No 7 seed was sitting at five winner and 15 unforced errors, but finished the match with 29 winners to 30 unforced errors, showing how significant his turnaround was towards the backend of the match.

After gaining a break early in the third set, Fritz simply couldn’t find a foothold back into the clash, going down 6-3 and crashing out of the tournament he won in 2022, despite having been one point away from the quarter-finals yet again.

“Actually in the middle of the second set I start to play better. My serve, had some easier service games in a way and I was pushing him a bit more in his serve in my return games. I feel like I was striking the ball better, feeling more comfortable with my movements out there. After I saved the match point, I gained some confidence. I even think from being down 5-4 I still believed in myself. I just lost focus quickly, and that’s why he got the match points in that service game. Then after that I was close to break him. He held, and then played a very good tiebreak,” Rune told the media after his win.

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Tennis Majors

“I’m excited. He’s a great opponent” – RUNE ON MEDVEDEV

Rune, ranked No 7, will play Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No 4 seed, next.

“It’s going to be an interesting match. We played each other twice on clay courts. It’s going to be first meeting on a hard court,” the Dane said. “I’m excited. He’s a great opponent. Different kind of player than many others. Again, he has a big serve like Fritz has, as well. I’m just going to believe in myself and play my game.”

The 20-year-old Dane benefited from the forfeit of Canadian Milos Raonic and beat Italian Lorenzo Musetti, the No 26 seed (6-2, 7-6 (5)) earlier in the tournament.

In the previous rounds of the Indian Wells Tennis Masters, Fritz, ranked No 12, defeated Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (7-6 (2), 6-2) and Argentinian Sebastian Baez, the No 19 seed (6-2, 6-2).

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Tennis Majors

Indian Wells Masters 1000, other round of 16 results (Indian Wells Tennis Garden, hard, USD 9.495.555):

• Daniil Medvedev beat Grigor Dimitrov (13): 6-4, 6-4
• Tommy Paul (17) beat Luca Nardi (LL): 6-4, 6-3
• Casper Ruud (9) beat Gael Monfils: 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4
• Jannik Sinner (3) beat Ben Shelton (16): 7-6 (4), 6-1
• Alexander Zverev (6) beat Alex De Minaur (10): 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
• Carlos Alcaraz (2) beat Fabian Marozsan: 6-3, 6-3
• Jiri Lehecka (32) beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (11): 6-2, 6-4