World No 2 Daniil Medvedev and 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas were ousted from the French Open on Monday, throwing open the bottom half of the men’s draw.
Teenager Holger Rune stunned Tsitsipas 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 while Marin Cilic cruised to a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over Medvedev.
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Rune became the first Danish man to reach the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
Great victory against a top player who has always been an inspiration for me @steftsitsipas 👏🏼👏🏼
📸 #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/XtvInQY5y9
— Holger Rune (@holgerrune2003) May 30, 2022
Making his debut in Paris, the 19-year-old has produced a string of faultless performances so far.
The Dane had also eliminated Denis Shapovalov, Henri Laaksonen and Hugo Gaston in straight sets.
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Rune will take on Norway’s Casper Ruud in the quarterfinal.
Meanwhile, Cilic was in red-hot form against the Russian, who is returning from a hernia surgery.
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The 33-year-old is through to his third Roland Garros quarter-final (2017-18) and his first Grand Slam quarter-final since he reached that stage in three of the four majors in 2018, including the Australian Open final.
Cilic, the 20th seed, did not face a break point and won 90 per cent (35/39) of his first-serve points to advance.
When @cilic_marin puts the jets on 💨#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/CY5GIfGLHs
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2022
He was also ruthless on return, converting on five of his seven break chances in a one-hour, 45-minute victory.
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“It was an absolutely fantastic match from the first point to the last,” he said in an on-court interview.
“I enjoyed the atmosphere, enjoyed the night session here. I played incredible tennis — one of the best matches of my career from start to finish.”
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In the quarterfinal, Cilic will face Andrey Rublev, who progressed to the last eight after Jannik Sinner retired with injury.
