The pair of Monica Niculescu and Belgian Kimberly Zimmermann reached the quarterfinals of the doubles of the WTA 1000 from Dubai tournament, after eliminating their rivals from the 1/8 finals.

Monica NiculescuPhoto: Julian Avram / AP / Profimedia

Niculescu and his partner took advantage of the departure from the team of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/Olena Rybakina (Russia/Kazakhstan), the Wimbledon champion explained the problems in the lower back.

Monica and Kimberly received a check for $20,914 and 190 points in the WTA doubles ranking.

Niculescu and Zimmermann will play third-seeded favorites Desiree Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs (USA/Netherlands) for a place in the semifinals of the tournament in the United Arab Emirates.

Romania no longer has a singles representative in Dubai, with Iryna Begu defeated in the first round, Sorana Kirstya eliminated in the second round on Tuesday and Ana Bohdan in the round of 16.