Stefanos Tsitsipas’ rival says ‘I’ve become your dad’ in fighting talk
Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered his fourth successive loss to Holger Rune.
Holger Rune had a hilarious message for Stefanos Tsitsipas after upsetting the No. 8 seed in Indian Wells. The 21-year-old has now won all four matches he’s played against the Greek star. Those in the ATP locker room have an unusual term for rivals who lose three matches in a row to a specific player.
And Rune brought out the fighting talk following his 6-4 6-4 victory over Tsitsipas, explaining that the result means “you become his dad”. The ‘daddy’ tag has been a talking point on the tour this season. However, Rune must avoid having another colleague become his “dad” this week.
Back in January, Ben Shelton opened up on one of the locker room secrets. “We say on tour if someone beats you three times in a row, they’re your daddy,” the world No. 12 said during the Australian Open.
Other players have since started to open up on the unusual monicker, including Rune. The Dane had a 3-0 record against Tsitsipas before they met in the round of 16 in Indian Wells, meaning he was already Tsitsipas’ “daddy”.
But Rune took things a step further, winning their fourth match on Tuesday to truly cement his status. The world No. 13 was caught retweeting a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), which branded him the “daddy” in their head-to-head.
During an appearance on Tennis Channel, Rune was also asked to explain what it meant to beat a player at least three times. “So what people say is that, once you beat someone three times in a row, you become his dad,” he laughed.
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