Holger Rune says his mixed Tour results in recent months haven’t deterred his love for the sport after reaching the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters.
The Danish world No.13 ended Stefanos Tsitsipas’ run on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-4, win over the Greek. It is the first time he has beaten a top 10 player on an outdoor hardcourt in his career, which brings his overall tally to 17. Rune is the first Scandinavian man to reach back-to-back quarter-finals in Indian Wells since Stefan Edberg (1994-95).
A former world No.4 with four Tour-level titles to his name, Rune has at times struggled to maintain his consistency when compared to the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carloca Alcaraz. He has failed to win back-to-back matches at three out of six tournaments played so far in 2025 but at one of those (Mexican Open) he retired due to illness. Nevertheless, he believes there are plenty of positives in his game and is confident he can compete alongside the very best.
”It’s about making results, but at the same time improving your game and having stability,” Rune told reporters after beating Tsitsipas. “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.
“You know, when you have these expectations and you don’t quite, like, live up to them, of course it’s disappointing,” he added.
“But it’s very basic and maybe it’s very boring to say it, but I just love tennis.
“So even not being satisfied with my results, I still love to go down to the practice court and hit forehands, backhands, work on my shots, my physicality … I think I’m living my dream.”
During his latest match, Rune delighted fans by producing one of the best shots of this year’s Indian Wells tournament. Facing two break points whilst leading 4-3 in the second set, he hit a winning tweener from beyond the baseline that went over Tsitsipas’ head.
“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,” he told The Tennis Channel.
“I didn’t expect it to land in… I think it’s one of the better tweeners I’ve hit in my life.”
Rune will next play Tallon Griekspoor who stunned top seed Alexander Zverev in the second round.
