Last year’s Brisbane finalist Alexandr Dolgopolov has received an easy pass through to the last eight in bizarre circumstances, with his opponent, Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, racing off court for an emergency bathroom break mid-match before being forced to call it quits due to a migraine.
Dolgopolov was on song throughout the first set – mixing his heavy flat groundstrokes with rolling three-quarter pace crosscourt forehands – taking it 6-2.
With Nieminen’s movement clearly impaired, the Ukrainian third seed raced to 4-1 before the Finnish stalwart took the bathroom break.
Dologpolov will now meet Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals after the fifth seed beat Tommy Robredo late Wednesday afternoon.