#NextGenATP Italian Sinner Upsets Bautista Agut In Dubai
Jannik Sinner won a high-quality 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday for a place in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships quarter-finals.
The #NextGenATP Italian weathered a fight back from Bautista Agut in the second set and led 4-2 in the decider, before the experienced 2018 Dubai champion worked his way back. Sinner remained aggressive and once Bautista Agut hit his first double fault of the match at 5-6, 15/30, the 19-year-old secured victory with his 48th winner, a looping forehand.
[WATCH LIVE 1]“Roberto is an incredible player, very solid,” said No. 16 seed Sinner. “It was very tough, not going for too much or striking the ball too slow. I am looking for these kind of tough matches in order to improve. I am happy to have won and can play one more match here tomorrow. I tried to control my emotions as much as possible, which helped me a lot.”
Sinner, the youngest player in the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, struck 16 aces and will now face fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego, the No. 17 seed, or last month’s surprise Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev of Russia on Thursday.
Sinner, last month’s Great Ocean Road Open champion (d. Travaglia), was impressive in the 42-minute opener, breaking Bautista Agut after a 24-stroke rally at 4-4 in the first set. Fourth seed Bautista Agut regrouped in the second set, breaking service for a 5-3 advantage when Sinner hit a backhand into the net. The decider was a battle of nerves and the encounter lasted two hours and 25 minutes.
World No. 11 Bautista Agut, who is now 9-7 on the 2021 season, has already reached two ATP Tour finals at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier (l. to Goffin) and at last week’s Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha (l. to Basilashvili) this year.