Teen sensation Jannik Sinner defeats ex-champ Bautista Agut

  DUBAI - Italian teenager Jannik Sinner claimed a dramatic 6-4 3-6 7-5 victory over fourth seed and former champion Roberto Bautista Agut on Wednesday (March 17) to move into the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The measure of Sinner's two-hour and 24-minute victory can be judged by the fact that his opponent has already reached two finals this year, in Montpellier and last week in Doha. The gripping battle remained in the balance right up until the final ball was struck. The opening set went to Sinner after he broke to lead 5-4, and Bautista Agut levelled the match by breaking to lead 5-3 in the second before serving out the set. In the deciding set, Sinner held the advantage by breaking to lead 4-2 and, although Bautista Agut brought it back to 4-4, a double fault at 6-5 gave Sinner a match point that he gratefully accepted. Roberto Bautista Agut Sinner, who is making his debut in Dubai this week, is still a new name to many but he has already set numerous records. He ended 2020 as the number one teenager on the ATP Tour, and he won his second ATP250 title earlier this season in Melbourne. He won the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals title in Milan, and he advanced to the 2020 French Open quarter-finals upon his debut there, the first debutant to do so since Rafael Nadal in 2005. He was also the youngest quarter-finalist there since Novak Djokovic in 2006. "Today I tried to play aggressive, especially on the return game," said Sinner. "Some points I played a little bit slower to change the rhythm. I think that was the key." The quarter-finals will see Sinner face Aslan Karatsev, Denis Shapovalov play Jeremy Chardy, Andrey Rublev against Marton Fucsovics and Lloyd Harris take on Kei Nishikori. ICA/Expat Media
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