Stefanos Tsitsipas’s seven-match win streak has come to an end after he was defeated by Holger Rune 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round at Indian Wells.
Tsitsipas has been in good form but the Dane’s aggressive and proactive tennis was too much to handle in the 90-minute affair.
The Greek entered the match having held serve 42 times in a row but Rune quickly found success on the eighth seed’s delivery.
He earned the opening break of the first set when Tsitsipas decided to leave the ball at the net. Instead of hitting a high backhand volley, the Greek pulled his racquet away and Rune’s forehand pass dropped in.
Tsitsipas was quick to respond, hitting an inside-out forehand winner before Rune broke again. The 21-year-old then held serve to cap a dramatic four-game period on Stadium 1.
In the second set, Rune kept up the aggression and found a number of stunning passes in the match, including two in the space of four points on a Tsitsipas serve at 2-2.
Then he hit one of the shots of the season to save a break point at 4-3, 15/40.
Tsitsipas chucked up a lob when Rune approached the net but the Dane hurried back to the baseline and instinctively hit a tweener lob that Tsitsipas was unable to retrieve.
Earlier this month, Tsitsipas returned to the Top 10 after winning the Dubai Open, but it wasn’t to be in California.
The 26-year-old is now down 0-4 against Rune in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series.
