Stefanos Tsitsipas pulled out of a French Open fourth-round exit at the hands of Danish teenager Holger Rune on Monday, insisting: “I want payback”.
Novak Djokovic, Greek world number four and runner-up in Paris in 2021, was beaten 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 by 19-year-old Rune, who fired off a fearless 54 winners.
It was the second time this year that Tsitsipas was out-foxed by one of the sport’s highly-rated teenagers after Barcelona lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
“I’m not worried. I know my tennis, I know my game. These kids want to beat me badly because apparently they’re chasing,” said Tsitsipas, who is in the quarterfinals in Paris for the third year in a row. I was bidding for a place.
“I’m chasing too, but I’m in a different position than them. I’m hungry to beat them too. Now that they’ve beaten me, I want payback.”
Tsitsipas described 40th-ranked Rune as an “emotional” player when Kishor saw a 5-2 fourth-set lead before saving three break points in the deciding 10th game.
“I would say an adversary of sorts,” Tsitsipas said. “He’s a very passionate player, he can play great, he totally deserves this win, played better, handled important tough moments better.
“But I can see something different next time with this opponent. I’m pretty sure I can do better. This isn’t where I maxed out, let’s say. I found myself going all the way.” Wasn’t given a chance and it’s a shame.”
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