For the second straight year, Stefanos Tsitsipas booked his place in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final just five days after lifting the Open 13 Provence trophy in Marseille.

The World No. 6 won 90 per cent of first-serve points (26/29) and did not face a break point en route to a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Daniel Evans after 81 minutes. Tsitsipas has lost just one of the 17 sets he has contested since arriving in Marseille last week.

”I just managed to stay solid throughout the whole match,” said Tsitsipas. “I didn’t have massive breakdowns and just played a quality of tennis which I enjoyed… I am really impressed by the quality of my game today and I really hope to bring the same and possibly even better in the next round.”

With his eighth straight match win, Tsitsipas improves to 10-2 at the ATP 500 event. The 21-year-old Greek will attempt to capture his first ATP 500 trophy in Saturday’s championship match.

Tsitsipas will face World No. 1 Novak Djokovic or third seed Gael Monfils for the title. The reigning Nitto ATP Finals titlist is tied at 2-2 in his ATP Head2Head series against four-time champion Djokovic and owns two wins from three matches against Monfils. Last year, Tsitsipas beat Monfils in a final-set tie-break to reach the final in Dubai.

Tsitsipas proved the more consistent player from the baseline in the early stages and was rewarded with groundstroke errors from his opponent in the fifth game. Evans responded by moving to the net behind his serve, but Tsitsipas ripped his second backhand winner of the game to establish a 3-2 lead. The World No. 6 continued to hit his targets as Evans attempted to move up the court, breaking serve for a second time before firing an ace out wide to claim a one-set lead.

With aggressive forehands and movement up the court, Tsitsipas strengthened his position with an early break of serve at 1-1 in the second set. The five-time ATP Tour titlist advanced to his 11th tour-level final with his fourth service break as Evans failed to control a low forehand volley.

”I have found momentum,” said Tsitsipas. “I am executing really well with my forehand which played an incredible role today in the match. I won most of my points from the forehand side, which is my biggest weapon. My serve helped a lot as well.”

Evans was attempting to reach his first ATP 500 final. The 29-year-old Brit, who saved three match points to beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the second round, has won five of his nine matches against Top 20 opponents this year.

John Peers and Michael Venus advanced to their first final as a team on Friday, beating Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6(2), 6-2 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The unseeded pairing saved all three break points it faced to claim its third straight-sets victory in as many matches this week. Peers and Venus also beat Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Benoit Paire and defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury en route to the championship match.

Peers and Venus are competing in just their fourth event as a team. Last month, the pair made its debut at the ASB Classic and also reached the Australian Open third round.

Peers and Venus will face fourth seeds Oliver Marach and Raven Klaasen or Henri Kontinen and Jan-Lennard Struff for the title. Kontinen and Struff are aiming to reach their second ATP 500 final of the year after a runner-up finish at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.

The ATP and FedEx Express today announced a sponsorship renewal that will see the shipping giant remain an ATP Platinum partner, while strengthening its sponsorship and becoming the new title sponsor of the ATP Rankings.

As part of the agreement, FedEx will continue to benefit from global promotional rights together with an on-site presence at tournaments throughout the season, while also leveraging opportunities to engage with viewers across mainstream and digital platforms.

Last year the partnership celebrated its 10th year and the new agreement builds on FedEx’s extensive history of global sports sponsorships, including the unique worldwide footprint of the ATP Tour. During the new term FedEx will sponsor 13 tournaments each season, with the Mutua Madrid Open included for the first time.

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Massimo Calvelli, ATP CEO, said: “FedEx has been a fantastic partner of the ATP for over ten years now and we’re delighted to announce this extension to our agreement. In addition to multiple tournament partnerships, the title sponsorship of the ATP Rankings provides FedEx with an unparalleled association with an asset that links the whole season together, and we look forward to a continued successful partnership.”

“The ATP Tour perfectly reflects what FedEx stands for: a global footprint, speed, excitement and precision,” said Wouter Roels, SVP Marketing International, FedEx Express. “Since we started our journey as Official Sponsor of the ATP Tour in 2010, we have enjoyed many memorable moments of passion, persistence on court and possibilities for players to inspire and connect with fans. Through our presence at the largest tournaments of the Tour, we will continue to engage with millions of fans all over the world through mainstream and digital media.”

With a focus on activation around the FedEx ATP Rankings, FedEx will also become the presenting sponsor of the ATP World No. 1 trophy ceremonies, presented annually at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.

Grigor Dimitrov arrived on court having lost his past five matches against Stan Wawrinka, but you wouldn’t know it from how their quarter-final clash played out on Thursday night at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

Striking his backhand with authority and pouncing on returns, the Bulgarian dismissed the third-seeded Swiss 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals in Acapulco. Dimitrov improved to 11-2 at this event and the 2014 champion (d. Anderson) closed the gap (5-7) in his ATP Head2Head rivalry with Wawrinka.

”I’ve played quite a few times against Stan and we’ve practised together so many times. Between us, it’s mainly a mental battle,” Dimitrov said. “I had lost the past five times against him, but those losses have inspired me. Those losses helped me. Even though it hurts saying it, I’m admitting it. I wanted to stand tall tonight.”

Dimitrov has continued to overcome mental hurdles this week, saving two match points and snapping a four-match losing streak in final-set tie-breaks to defeat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino on Wednesday. The 28-year-old moved to 7-4 this season and is through to his first semi-final of the year.

He awaits the winner of top-seeded Rafael Nadal and South Korean Soonwoo Kwon. Nadal leads his ATP Head2Head series with Dimitrov 12-1, but the Bulgarian picked up his lone win on hard courts at 2016 Beijing.

”The past months have been pretty rough for me. All I wanted to do was put myself in the situation to play the best of the best,” Dimitrov said. “I’m far away from being satisfied. I’m still going to focus on the things I’ve been trying to work on.”

Wawrinka started slowly and dropped the first eight points of the match against Dimitrov. But even when the Swiss broke back to tie the score at 3-3, his groundstrokes didn’t meet his lofty standards. A pair of wild forehand errors from Wawrinka in the next game saw him drop serve once more and another forehand miss on set point gave Dimitrov the opening set.

The Bulgarian continued to remain steady in the second set, extending the rallies until his opponent’s baseline game broke down. Serving at 2-2, Wawrinka was broken to love for the second time in the match after sending a forehand well long.

The slight advantage was all Dimitrov needed and he closed out play after one hour and 25 minutes. Dimitrov hit just 12 unforced errors on the night, compared to 34 for Wawrinka.

Gael Monfils faces one of, if not the toughest task in tennis on Friday in the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Sixteen times the Frenchman has faced Novak Djokovic, and 16 times he has fallen.

So what strategy will Monfils employ in his 17th ATP Head2Head match against the World No. 1?

“I have no idea right now because 16 times it was the wrong one,” Monfils said, getting a laugh from the crowd after his quarter-final win against Richard Gasquet. “Hopefully the 17th will be the good one.”

Monfils is one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour, winning 12 straight matches, including titles at the Open Sud de France and the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, held in Montpellier and Rotterdam, respectively. But he will have to confront a different challenge in Djokovic, who is 16-0 in 2020, including a 6-3, 6-2 win against Monfils at the ATP Cup.

“I’m 16 down against Novak. He’s the World No. 1, he hasn’t lost a match this year, so he’s in great shape,” Monfils said. “I’m just going with a new game plan and see how it works tomorrow night.”

Vitas Gerulaitis famously told press after snapping a 16-match losing streak against Jimmy Connors in 1980, “Let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row!”

Monfils will hope to follow in Gerulaitis’ footsteps. But he’s not getting too excited about his current form, knowing how tough of a task playing the top seed will be.

“I’m not counting. I try to be good every day even though I don’t think I play my best tennis [every day],” Monfils said. “[I] just control that I’m fighting and try to be very solid.”

Djokovic certainly won’t be taking Monfils lightly. The Serbian has dropped at least one set in half (8/16) of their previous clashes.

“Gael Monfils is in form. He’s Top 10 of the world. He’s playing possibly his best tennis that he’s ever played,” Djokovic said after cruising past Karen Khachanov on Thursday. “I’ve never lost to him, but we had some pretty long matches and tough encounters.

“[Gael is] one of the best if not the best athlete in our sport. He moves so well. He’s so fit. For me he has the most interesting game in tennis. I love watching him play and I love playing against him.”

Djokovic has only lost 11 games in six sets this week, looking in form to capture his 79th tour-level title. But for Monfils, will his 17th try against Djokovic be the charm?

Fifth seed John Isner continued his run of success at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, defeating fellow American Tommy Paul 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2 on Thursday for his second consecutive semi-final in Acapulco.

”He’s improved so much and his results show that this year. I’m definitely the old guard of American tennis and I’m trying to hang onto that for as long as I can,” Isner said. “Winning matches like this gives me a lot of confidence.”

Isner will now take on fellow American Taylor Fritz, who halted Brit Kyle Edmund’s winning streak at seven matches with a 6-4, 6-3 victory to reach his maiden semi-final of the year. Isner leads their ATP Head2Head series 2-1, but lost their most recent clash last year in Auckland.

”I’m expecting a really good match. Taylor is confident every time he takes the court,” Isner said. “He’s an absolute gamer and I respect the heck out of him. He straps on his shoes and goes to battle.”

Isner and Paul traded comfortable service holds in the first set to set up a tie-break. One point proved the difference, with Paul missing a forehand at 3/3 to give Isner a mini-break advantage. The big-serving American then took the next three points to grab the early lead.

A loose service game from Isner at 1-2 in the second set saw him hit two double faults to hand Paul the first break of the match. The slight advantage was all the 22-year-old needed and he went on to force a decider.

With the final set tied at 2-2, Isner found another gear and won four straight games to advance in exactly two hours. He hammered 22 aces on the day and has hit 72 aces across his first three matches this week.

Edmund and Fritz struggled to find their footing early on, with service breaks highlighting four of the first five games in the match. But Edmund’s service struggles were largely due to Fritz’s aggressive returns, with the American standing inside the baseline to pounce on second serves. A volley winner gave Fritz two set points with Edmund serving at 4-5 and a forehand error from the Brit wrapped up the opening set.

A three-game run of service breaks highlighted play in the second set, but it was Fritz who came out on top as another forehand error from Edmund gave the American his fifth break of the match and a 5-3 lead. The 22-year-old cracked a service winner on his first match point to advance in one hour and 35 minutes.

Fourth seeds Raven Klaasen/Oliver Marach powered into the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday, scoring the lone break in each set to topple Wesley Koolhof/Nikola Mektic 7-5, 6-4.

They’ll take on qualifiers Henri Kontinen/Jan-Lennard Struff for a place in Saturday’s final. The Finnish-German duo eased past wild cards Matthew Ebden/Leander Paes 6-3, 6-3 in 56 minutes.

Jurgen Melzer/Edouard Roger-Vasselin scored an upset by toppling third seeds Kevin Krawietz/Andreas Mies 6-4, 7-6(1). Next up for them in the semi-finals are John Peers/Michael Venus, who took out top seeds and defending champions Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury on Wednesday.

At the Chile Dove Men+Care Open in Santiago, Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera/Alejandro Tabilo delighted the home crowd with a 1-6, 6-3, 10-8 quarter-final victory against top seeds Marcelo Demoliner/Matwe Middelkoop. They’ll next face Roberto Carballes Baena/Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who defeated third seeds Divij Sharan/Artem Sitak on Wednesday.

Second seeds Marcelo Arevalo/Jonny O’Mara didn’t face a break point in their 7-6(3), 6-3 win over Federico Coria/Juan Ignacio Londero. Awaiting them in the semi-finals are Facundo Bagnis/Pablo Cuevas, who prevailed against fourth seeds Ariel Behar/Gonzalo Escobar 6-3, 6-4.

Top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah and second seeds Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo will play their quarter-final matches on Thursday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco.

#NextGenATP Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild reached his first ATP Tour quarter-final on Thursday, battling past fifth seed Juan Ignacio Londero 7-6(7), 6-4 at the Chile Dove Men+Care Open in Santiago.

Seyboth Wild began the season with one tour-level win, and he now has three in the past two weeks, after reaching the second round at the Rio Open presented by Claro. The 19-year-old will next face top seed Cristian Garin or 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a semi-final spot.

The Brazilian was clutch under pressure against Londero, saving all three break points he faced. Seyboth Wild won 86 per cent of his first-serve points to triumph after one hour and 45 minutes. He wasn’t the only player from his country to reach the last eight in Santiago, though.

Eighth seed Thiago Monteiro ousted Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 23 minutes to reach his eighth ATP Tour quarter-final and his second of the season (Buenos Aires). Like Seyboth Wild, Monteiro also saved all three break points he faced.

World No. 88 Monteiro will next challenge third seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas or Peruvian lucky loser Juan Pablo Varillas.