Holger Rune admits disappointment over falling short of Roger Federer after impressive tweener in Indian Wells win over Stefanos Tsitsipas

Holger Rune recently expressed his disappointment after being unable to recreate a Roger Federer-like tweener during his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2025 Indian Wells Masters. This marked Rune's fourth win against the Greek player in all four matches they have played against each other on the ATP Tour.

Rune, seeded 12th at the ATP Masters 1000 hardcourt tournament in California, kicked off his campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. He started strong by defeating Corentin Moutet 6-2, 6-4 in his opening match before overcoming 18th seed Ugo Humbert 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in the third round.

In the fourth round, the Dane triumphed over the eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and a half to secure his spot in the quarterfinals, his ninth time reaching the last eight at a Masters 1000 tournament.

During a rally in the match against Tsitsipas, Holger Rune executed an impressive tweener, a shot played between the legs. Tsitsipas was unable to return the shot, as Rune won the point.

Watch the video of Holger Rune playing the tweener here:

During the post-match press conference, Rune talked about the tweener he played, stating that the shot "felt better" on the court and "looked good" on the phone. Despite winning a point after playing the tweener, he also expressed his disappointment in not being able to execute the shot as flawlessly as Roger Federer.

"I think it felt better on the court, actually, but it also looked good on the phone, definitely. 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 said.

Roger Federer holds the record for the most men's singles titles won at the Indian Wells Masters, a record he shares with Novak Djokovic. Federer claimed the title in 2004-06, 2012, and 2017 and finished as the runner-up on four occasions in 2014-15 and 2018-19.

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After defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune will face Tallon Griekspoor at the 2025 Indian Wells Masters QF

Holger Rune at the 2025 Indian Wells Masters [Image Source: Getty Images]

After defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round of the 2025 Indian Wells Masters, Holger Rune will take on Tallon Griekspoor in the quarterfinals.

Griekspoor kicked off his campaign at the ATP Masters 1000 hardcourt tournament in California by defeating Miomir Kecmanovic 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. He then pulled off an upset by beating top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in the second round.

The Dutchman then triumphed over 29th seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6(3), 6-3, and qualifier Yosuke Watanuki 7-6(4), 6-1 in the third and fourth rounds, respectively to secure his spot in the quarterfinals against Rune.

Holger Rune and Tallon Griekspoor have met twice on the ATP Tour, with the latter emerging victorious in both encounters. Their most recent match-up was in the third round of the 2024 Madrid Open, where Griekspoor claimed the win with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.