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Aided by double bounce, Holger Rune battles past Francisco Cerundolo into French Open quarter-finals

Rune will next face Norway's fourth seed Casper Ruud in a repeat of last year's quarter-final.

Published on: Jun 5, 2023, 23:22:03 IST
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Danish sixth seed Holger Rune got a helping hand from the umpire with a missed but glaring double bounce to battle past Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(3) 3-6 6-4 1-6 7-6(7) on Monday and reach the French Open last eight for the second year in a row.

Denmark's Holger Rune celebrates his victory over Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo during their men's singles match on day nine of the Roland-Garros (AFP)
Denmark's Holger Rune celebrates his victory over Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo during their men's singles match on day nine of the Roland-Garros (AFP)

He will next face Norway's fourth seed Casper Ruud in a repeat of last year's quarter-final.

Rune got off to a strong start, powering to a quick 4-1 lead with Cerundolo struggling with his opponent's serve that was on average more than 20kph faster than his own at that stage.

The 20-year-old comfortably held serve to go 5-2 up but started getting sloppy before snatching the first set in a tiebreak.

But the mercurial Dane had by then lost the edge on his serve with Cerundolo breaking him to love to go 4-1 up in the second set with a superb heavy topspin lob.

He bagged it but soon the momentum would shift again.

Rune was 2-1 up in the third at 40-all when he clearly failed to get to the ball in time and the second bounce was visible to all but chair umpire Kader Nouni.

The 24-year-old, however, refused to buckle, snatching a 4-0 lead in the fourth, with Rune's unforced errors at that stage climbing to 52 and the Dane essentially giving up on the set.

The battle started anew in the fifth with both holding serve until 4-4 and then each being broken once to go to a deciding tiebreak where Rune prevailed.

The Dane has now claimed his second consecutive win over an Argentine opponent in Paris after eliminating Genaro Olivieri in the previous round.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
 
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Stay updated with the latest sports news, including latest headlines and updates from the Olympics 2024, where Indian athletes will compete for glory in Paris. Catch all the action from tennis Grand Slam tournaments, follow your favourite football teams and players with the latest match results, and get the latest on international hockey tournaments and series.
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