Sawt Falasteen - Denmark's Rune ready to break out of tennis doldrums

Coming off the court, the 21-year-old Dane said he couldn't wait to watch it on his phone, but the replay was a bit of a let-down.

"You know, I kind of had the expectation that I looked like Roger Federer when I hit it, and I didn't quite do that," he said. "So that was disappointing."

Even so, it was a key to Rune's 6-4, 6-4 victory over world number nine Tsitsipas -- which put him through to the Indian Wells quarter-finals for a second straight year.

It's his first quarter-final of 2025 -- a dispiriting run for a player who burst onto the scene in 2022 when he beat Novak Djokovic in the Paris Masters final at the age of 19.

Once as high as fourth in the world, Rune has slipped to 13th, struggling to stay consistent while watching peers like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner go on to Grand Slam glory.

It's a frustrating situation, but Rune said Tuesday he's learning to take the low-points in stride, and with a more consistent mentality he's confident he can put himself among the game's elite.

"It's about making results, but at the same time improving your game and having stability," he said. "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."

X.Habash--SF-PST