Nick Kyrgios meets Stan Wawrinka in Dubai Championship semi-finals
Friday 26 February 2016 16:02, UK
Stan Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios will renew their rivalry when they meet in the Dubai Championship semi-finals on Friday.
Novak Djokovic's surprise withdrawal from the event means the pair will take centre stage with a first meeting since the Montreal Masters last year.
In Canada, Wawrinka was forced to withdraw with the Aussie 4-0 up in the third and final set - although the match will mostly be remembered for Kyrgios sledging his opponent with some unsavoury remarks.
The pair have one win apiece from their two previous showdowns and are both bidding for a second title of the year in the absence of the world number one.
Djokovic withdrew from his quarter-final after losing the first set against Feliciano Lopez, complaining of a problem with his eye, so the tournament will seek a new champion for the first time since 2008 - the Serb and Roger Federer have won the last seven events.
Kyrgios has been in sparkling form for the last couple of weeks, winning his first ATP Tour title in France when claiming the Open 13 in Marseille and now, despite being unseeded, he has moved into the last four in Dubai, seeing off third seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets on Thursday.
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The 20-year-old got the better of Berdych for a second week in succession and he was pleased to overcome some injury and illness scares of his own.
"I wasn't in the greatest shape. I think I got a bit of food poisoning last night. I was really surprised with the performance I gave out there today to come out there and beat a quality player and in tough conditions. It's probably my favourite win over the past couple of weeks," Kyrgios said.
"It's tough, especially with Tomas. He's so diligent with everything he does. He's so professional. So for me to come out there and put in a great performance like that, I just took my chances when they came."
Wawrinka eased past Philipp Kohlschreiber in their quarter-final; after a tight opening set he raced through the second without losing a game as he looks to add to the title he won in Chennai earlier this year.
Spaniard Lopez was the beneficiary of Djokovic's exit and next up for him will be the mercurial Marcos Baghdatis in the second match on court.
Lopez advanced to his first semi-final of the season following Djokovic's unfortunate withdrawal - the sixth seed has also seen off Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Lukas Rosol to reach the last four.
Baghdatis was at his brilliant best on Thursday to see off two-time winner this season Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets - the second seed he has beaten having dumped out Viktor Troicki in the first round.
However world number 24 Lopez will have to overcome a 1-3 record against Baghdatis if he is to remain on course for a first singles title since Eastbourne in 2014.
The pair have not met since Indian Wells in 2012 when the Cypriot was a comfortable straight sets winner - Lopez's only victory a fourth round epic at Wimbledon in 2008.
Baghdatis has not won a title since Sydney in 2010, while he has only made one final since 2011 but he is likely to have the majority of the crowd support behind him when they take to the court in the second semi-final.
You can follow all the action from Dubai live on Sky Sports 3 from 1pm on Friday.
