Top 5 Photos, 3/17: Nishikori reaches last eight in Dubai
It was a big day for a couple of 21-and-unders at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. A handful of upsets occurred on Wednesday at the ATP-500 event, but one veteran managed to pull off another solid win to secure a ticket to his second quarterfinal of the year.
These are the Top 5 photos that sum up all of the action. (All photos Getty)
1
Kei Nishikori
The world No. 41 may have taken a couple of first-round losses, but he's also found his way into multiple quarterfinals this season. Nishikori defeated Aljaz Bedene, 6-4, 6-4, marking his first Dubai quarterfinal appearance of his career.
2
Denis Shapovalov
After taking a three-set loss last week in the quarterfinals of Doha, the Canadian is back into the last eight after dismissing No. 13 seed Hubert Hurkacz, 6-4, 6-3. He will next take on Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, who has been flying under the radar this season.
3
Jannik Sinner
Another week, another quarterfinal showing for the Italian teenager. Sinner fought past Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, to set up a clash against Russia's Aslan Karatsev. The Russian is having the best season of his career and will look to roll past the aggressive baseliner.
4
Andrey Rublev
The Russian captured 10 of the last 11 games to take down American Taylor Fritz, 6-3, 6-1. The world No. 8 has reached the quarterfinals or better in all five events he's played this year, including the ATP Cup. Dubai's No. 2 seed will square off against Marton Fucsovics for a spot in the final four.
5
Roberto Bautista Agut
Last week, the Spaniard posted bigs wins against reigning US Open champion Dominic Thiem and Rublev in Doha, en route to the final round. Though Bautista Agut suffered an upset loss to Sinner on Wednesday, there are many positives to take away from the past couple of weeks in the Middle East.
