Roger Federer faced two set points in an opening-set tie-break on Thursday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. But the seven-time Dubai champion stayed calm and eliminated Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 7-6(6), 6-4 in one hour and 56 minutes, continuing his pursuit of a historic 100th tour-level title.

Federer remains undefeated in Dubai quarter-finals, advancing to the last four at the ATP 500 tennis tournament, where he holds a 51-6 record, for the 11th time. He will face sixth seed Borna Coric or two-time ATP Tour champion Nikoloz Basilashvili for a spot in his 10th final at the event.

The 37-year-old Swiss is now just two victories away from earning his eighth Dubai crown and becoming the second player in the Open Era to win 100 tour-level trophies. The only other player to accomplish the feat is Jimmy Connors, who captured 109 titles.

Reaching the semi-finals was not easy, though. Fucsovics did well to maintain his court-positioning for much of the match, using his forehand down the line to keep the Swiss on the back foot and to try to dictate play as much as he could. Federer was never able to consistently dominate rallies, making for a tense affair with entertaining points.

After Federer stormed to a 3/0 lead in the tie-break. Fucsovics won five consecutive points, and then earned two set points at 6/4. But the Hungarian showed some nerves, hitting a couple of forehands into the net to allow Federer to take the lead.

But despite Federer breaking early in the second set, Fucsovics battled hard and regained his rhythm on the forehand wing to break back. At 4-4, Fucsovics fended off three break points when a slight rain began to fall, forcing a break in play that lasted less than 10 minutes (the second short rain delay of the match). While Federer could not convert another opportunity he earned after play resumed, Fucsovics could not fend off a fifth chance, missing a forehand down the line wide to give the Swiss a crucial second break in the set.

Federer won just two more points than Fucsovics, but he was able to advance in straight sets for the first time this week. Federer won 45 per cent of return points against the World No. 35.

Federer now leads Fucsovics 2-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series after also defeating the Hungarian in straight sets at last year’s Australian Open.

Coric defeated Federer twice last year, to win the Halle title and reach the Shanghai final. Federer lost just five games to Basilashvili three years ago in the first round of the Australian Open. 

Did You Know?
If Federer triumphs in Dubai, it will be the fourth tournament at which he has captured eight titles. He has lifted nine trophies in both Basel and Halle, while emerging victorious at Wimbledon eight times.

Nick Kyrgios overcame food poisoning on Wednesday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC to record his biggest match win in two years. In a match, the Australian said he “will never forget”, Kyrgios saved three match points to beat top seed Rafael Nadal at the Acapulco Princess Mundo Imperial for a place in the quarter-finals.

“I love going out and playing the big matches,” said Kyrgios. “It’s one of the best atmospheres that I’ve ever played in. You could tell the crowd was loving every minute of that match,” said Kyrgios. “That’s what we play for. To come to Acapulco, Centre Court, a packed crowd. They were never silent. They were cheering Rafa’s name, cheering my name. It’s a match I will never forget.”

Kyrgios did not break Nadal’s serve in the match, which lasted two hours and three minutes, but he saved three match points in the third set tie-break to win 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(6). The 23-year-old, who also beat Novak Djokovic at the ATP 500 tournament in 2017, later admitted that he had considered not contesting the match due to illness.

“I woke up today and had food poisoning,” said Kyrgios. “The physio gave me some tablets and it helped a bit, but I was feeling a little woozy. I’ve been dealing with a knee injury as well. Before the match, I wasn’t so sure if I was going to go out there. I was in the shower a half an hour before I played and just feeling really average. [But] the more I got into the match, the adrenaline kicked in. I’m just really proud of how I overcame a couple of things tonight and the way I competed.”

Kyrgios, who will face Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals on Thursday, added, “I’ve had a pretty shocking year to start… A win like this gives me a bit of confidence in myself. I just want to do my thing and find my way. Just to be able to compete and have fun again is something that’s been lost on me for a long time. To find it again today against a player like Rafa is pretty special.”

Watch Kyrgios vs. Nadal Highlights From Acapulco

During his ATP Tour career, Andre Agassi played a strategic brand of baseline tennis that always saw him thinking two steps ahead. It’s no surprise that quality has carried into his investment strategies.

The former World No. 1 opened up in a recent interview about how he has invested his more than $31 million in career prize money – plus a hefty sum in endorsement deals – in order to maximise his net worth while positively impacting the lives of others.

“I bet on people, not on things,” said Agassi to the Economic Times. “A good idea can get screwed up and an average idea can become something really special because of people.”

But while Agassi was never afraid to gamble down break point or at 4-4 in a final set, his investment strategy is more conservative. He told the Economic Times that he opts for a clear risk approach that “may not see 10-12 per cent returns every year, but also [won’t] drop in value by 20 per cent.”

Although clear risk strategies are often seen as a hands-off approach, Agassi is far from that when it comes to his finances.

“I have my more high-risk investments that I personally engage with. Outside of that, I am happy to listen to any investment as a passive investor,” he said. “But there are one or two areas that I really connect with – like maybe education or sports – where I take a much more aggressive position [and] invest my time and money.”

Agassi has been betting on people through education for nearly 20 years. In 2001, his foundation launched the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a public charter school in his hometown of Las Vegas. He has since teamed with an investment fund and helped finance the building of more than 90 charter schools across America in the past five years.

The tennis legend isn’t shy to admit his eighth-grade dropout status and said he hopes to prevent others, even those with the same athletic aspirations as his, from going down the same path.

“Education endows you with choice. My lack of education was probably the greatest vehicle to my commitment and interest In education,” he said. “[If] you’re successful in sports, but you spent a third of your life not preparing for the remaining two-thirds… that’s not ideal.”