Preview: Tsitsipas Continues Title Quest Against #NextGenATP Dane Rune
The four remaining fourth-round clashes will take place on Monday at Roland Garros, with Stefanos Tsitsipas aiming to reach the quarter-finals for a third consecutive year.
World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev is on night-session duty against Marin Cilic, while Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkacz will meet for the first time. #NextGenATP stars Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner will look to continue their runs when they face Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev, respectively.
In doubles, two teams will book their spots in the semi-finals.
View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw | View Schedule
[4] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. Holger Rune (DEN)
Tsitsipas is set to face his toughest test yet in Paris when he plays #NextGenATP Dane Rune for the first time on Court Philippe Chatrier.
After reaching the final at Roland Garros last year, the Greek is aiming to go one step further in the French capital this week. After being made to work hard in his opening two matches against #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti and Czech qualifier Zdenek Kolar, the World No. 5 produced his best performance of the week to ease past Swede Mikael Ymer.
“It's a good thing to have a match like this every now and then,” Tsitsipas said following his win over Ymer. “Especially when you come in, when you walk into a match with so much confidence and believe that you can really structure your tactics and you feel the confidence of your game itself, having built up through the matches before.
“Having played a lot of rallies but having been in a lot of situations in a match, you are able to kind of awaken the mind a little bit and see the best opportunities and possibilities for yourself.”
Business complete ✅@steftsitsipas ousts Ymer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 to claim a spot in the final 16 in Paris! ????@rolandgarros | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/eJLMZr7ZLX
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 28, 2022
The 23-year-old will need to find his A-game if he is to topple Rune, with the 19-year-old entering the match high in confidence. The Dane has yet to drop a set on his debut in Paris, rising to No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as a result.
Rune clinched his maiden ATP Tour title in Munich last month and is 13-6 on clay this season at tour-level events. Meanwhile, Tsitsipas has earned a Tour-leading 34 victories in 2022 and is aiming to win his second title of the season in Paris, after retaining his Monte Carlo crown.
[2] Daniil Medvedev vs. [20] Marin Cilic (CRO)
World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev arrived at Roland Garros with just one clay-court match in the bank this season. However, he has quickly found his range in the French capital, entering week two having not dropped a set.
The 26-year-old, who lost to Richard Gasquet in Geneva on his first outing on clay this year, swept aside Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets in a performance that was so dominant it even surprised Medvedev.
“[It] was a great match against a tough opponent. To be honest, before the match, I would never have thought I could make this score happen on clay courts,” Medvedev said. “Everything I wanted to do today worked. I was serving great. I feel like I was almost putting all the returns in.”
Medvedev is in contention to regain the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings from Novak Djokovic. He can return to No. 1 on 13 June with a runner-up finish in Paris, even if Djokovic lifts the trophy.
Standing in the 13-time tour-level titlist’s way for a second consecutive quarter-final appearance in Paris is Croatian Marin Cilic, who is yet to defeat the second seed in their three previous meetings.
Cilic overcame Gilles Simon to end the Frenchman’s final Roland Garros run. The 33-year-old will be aiming to reach the quarter-finals in Paris for the third time, but the first since 2018 when he takes on Medvedev in the night session on Court Philippe Chatrier.
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[7] Andrey Rublev vs. [11] Jannik Sinner (ITA)
Fierce ball-striking will be the order of the day when Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner face off on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
It will be the third time they have met on clay and the second time this season, with Sinner currently holding the bragging rights after defeating the World No. 7 in Barcelona last year and then in three sets in Monte Carlo in April.
Despite struggling with a leg injury against Mackenzie McDonald, the Italian reached the fourth round in Paris for the third consecutive year with victory over the American. Sinner, who has only ever lost to 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal at the clay-court Slam, is aiming to reach the quarter-finals at a tour-level event for the fifth time this season.
Rublev edged Cristian Garin to earn his third-straight four-set win of the opening week. The 2020 quarter-finalist clinched the third clay-court title of his career when he defeated Novak Djokovic to triumph in Belgrade in April.
[8] Casper Ruud (NOR) vs Hubert Hurkacz [12] (POL)
Ruud made history when he rallied past Lorenzo Sonego to become the first Norwegian to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros. However, the eighth seed won’t be satisfied with what he has achieved yet as he targets further success on what many regard as his best surface.
The 23-year-old has won seven of his eight ATP Tour titles on clay, with his latest crown coming in Geneva just eight days ago. Ruud has now won his past seven matches and will be looking to extend that run when he plays World No. 13 Hurkacz for the first time.
The love affair with Paris continues ????@CasperRuud98 survives Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 6-7(3), 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the last 16 for the first time.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/cxPDLkoNs3
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 28, 2022
Before this year, the Pole had only advanced to the second round once in four appearances in the French capital. However, this week the 25-year-old has shown the form that fired him to quarter-finals at ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo and Madrid.
Backed by strong serving, Hurkacz has dispatched #NextGenATP Italian Giulio Zeppieri, Marco Cecchinato and David Goffin in straight sets.
Doubles Quarter-finals
The first two quarter-finals in the doubles will take place on Monday, with 16th seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop facing Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara. Bopanna and Middelkoop are competing together for the fourth time this season and upset second seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the third round.
The other clash will see Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer take on Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez. Arevalo and Rojer have won titles together in Dallas and Delray Beach this season.