Stefanos Tsitsipas dug deep to beat hard-hitting Jan-Lennard Struff on Thursday night for a place in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semi-finals. The second seed and 2019 runner-up was never comfortable, but stepped up towards the end of a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 quarter-final victory in two hours and 23 minutes at The Aviation Club.

The match turned in Tsitsipas favour in the final 10 minutes, at 4-4 in the deciding set, when Struff paid the price for failing to convert a 40/0 lead. The Greek, who successfully retained his Open 13 Provence crown last week, hit 31 winners — 10 fewer than Struff (41) — in their fourth meeting.

“I had to give it my all,” said Tsitsipas, after recording his 10th match win of 2020. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, as he’d beaten me a couple of times. I fought, I suffered on the court and I am really happy and proud to have kept the winning mindset and managed to get the break at the end.”

The 21-year-old will next face Briton’s Daniel Evans, who handed sixth seed Andrey Rublev just his third loss of the season in a 6-2, 7-6(9) victory in the first singles match of the day.

Struff, aiming for his third straight victory over Tsitsipas, stepped up and played aggressively throughout the first set to create three set point chances at 5-4. Tsitsipas recovered to 30/40, after Stuff hit two forehands into the net, but was unable to deny the German on his third opportunity when he attacked the net to hurry Tsitsipas into mistiming a forehand. Struff hit seven of his 13 winners off his forehand in the 45-minute opener.

Tsitsipas regrouped immediately and was handed the opening game of the second set by Struff, who hit a forehand long at 15/40. When serving for the second set at 5-4, Tsitsipas came back from 15/40 and converted his second set point with a forehand winner down the line. The Greek looked to carry the momentum in the decider, but Struff saved four break points in the opening game and it wasn’t until 4-4 that Tsitsipas made the breakthrough.

Earlier in the day, Evans played with great assurance to frustrate Rublev. The Briton moved through to just his fourth ATP Tour semi-final — and his first an ATP 500-level — in two hours and 11 minutes.

The 29-year-old, who lost to Rublev at the Adelaide International in January, recovered from 1-3 down in the second set and first served for the match at 5-4. He later saved two set points at 5/6 and 8/9 in the second-set tie-break, and finished the encounter on his third match point.

“I made a mess of some of the match points, especially my service game at 5-4 [in the second set],” said Evans. “I just stayed in there and knew I’d get my chances. I’m very happy with the way I played. Staying calm is the key, also getting the right balance and being aggressive with my feet. I’m happy to come through and I’ll prepare for tomorrow.”

Evans has previously reached tour-level semi-finals at three ATP 250-level events: 2014 Zagreb (semi-final), 2017 Sydney (final) and 2019 Delray Beach (final). The World No. 37 saved three match points in the deciding set tie-break of his second-round victory over Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Evans carved up Rublev with his backhand slice and with aggression on his forehand, breaking in the first (forehand winner) and fifth (Rublev forehand error) games of first set to leave his Russian opponent frustrated. Evans completed the 50-minute opener, after coming through a 12-minute service game that included five break points for Rublev, who made a forehand error on Evans’ third set point.

Rublev took a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Evans battled back to win four straight games. However, the tables turned at 5-4 when Evans hit a double fault at 15/15 and followed it up with a forehand error. Rublev’s demeanour quickly changed, and he struck two big forehands to break serve at 30/40. Rublev recovered from 1/3 down in the tie-break, but could not convert set points at 6/5, when he hit a tight backhand, and at 9/8, when Evans struck a forehand winner.

The 22-year-old Rublev is now 16-3 on the season, which includes back-to-back ATP Tour crowns last month at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (d. Moutet) and in Adelaide (d. Harris).

Grigor Dimitrov leaped over a critical mental hurdle on Wednesday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, saving two match points to survive Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-7(8), 6-2, 7-6(2) in an epic second-round match in Acapulco.

Dimitrov had lost his past four final-set tie-breaks, but drew on memories of third-set tie-break victories in the semi-finals and final of his title run at this event in 2014. The Bulgarian improved to 6-4 this year and moved into his maiden quarter-final of 2020.

”All I had to do was to stay in the match and fight. I don’t know why I have to make it so hard, but it what it is,” Dimitrov said. “The atmosphere here was electric once again. I’m just going to appreciate this moment.”

Dimitrov squandered a 4-2 lead in the opening set and held a set point at 8/7 in the first-set tie-break, which Mannarino erased with a forehand volley winner. The Frenchman grabbed the early advantage two points later with an overhead smash.

It appeared that Dimitrov had regained control after cruising through the second set and holding a 4-1 lead in the decider, but Mannarino responded with a four-game run of his own. He held a pair of match points with Dimitrov serving at 4-5, but the Bulgarian erased both with clean hitting.

The match fittingly moved into a final-set tie-break and Dimitrov saved his best tennis for when it mattered most, racing to a 4/0 lead and cracking a backhand winner on match point to end play after two hours and 45 minutes. He improved to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head series with Mannarino.

Next up for Dimitrov is third-seeded Swiss Stan Wawrinka or Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez. He trails Wawrinka 4-7 in their ATP Head2Head rivalry.

Top-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal closes out the night session on Wednesday against #NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.

Novak Djokovic hit 15 matches unbeaten in 2020 on Wednesday by reaching the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships quarter-finals.

The World No. 1, who is aiming to capture his fifth title at The Aviation Club in Dubai, was never troubled in a 6-3, 6-1 victory over German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber in just 59 minutes.

“It was a great performance,” said Djokovic. “I enjoyed the way I played, coming out with the right focus and tactics. Knowing Philipp beat me 12 months ago in Indian Wells, I needed to approach this match very seriously regardless of his ranking [No. 80]. He is one of the most experienced players on the tour and likes to play on the big stage, so he doesn’t falter too much.”

Djokovic, who is now 38-6 lifetime at the ATP 500-level hard-court tournament, hit 12 of his 23 total winners off his forehand wing and committed just 10 unforced errors. He won all 10 of his points at the net.

Djokovic gave 36-year-old Kohlschreiber the run around in the sixth game of the first set, breaking for a 4-2 advantage with a forehand winner. Djokovic clinched the 31-minute opener when Kohlschreiber flicked a backhand crosscourt wide.

From 5-3 in the first set, Djokovic won five straight games — including breaks of serve in the first (with a forehand winner) and third (backhand winner) games of the second set. He completed the victory with a forehand return winner.

The 32-year-old Djokovic will next play seventh-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov, who defeated Austrian qualifier Dennis Novak 6-3, 6-4 in 74 minutes. Djokovic leads Khachanov 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.

“I’ve had some interesting battles with him,” said Djokovic, looking ahead to the Khachanov match. “He is a great guy, a very powerful player. He is one of the guys who is a contender to be Top 5, Top 10. He is very dedicated, so hopefully I’ll be as sharp as I have been in the past two matches and start well.”

Djokovic’s best start to a season was in 2011 when he went 41-0 before losing to Roger Federer in the Roland Garros semi-finals.

In the final match of the day, third seed Gael Monfils extended his winning streak to a career-best 11 matches after beating qualifier Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-1, 6-2 in 66 minutes. Monfils, who has won his past two tournaments at the Open Sud de France (d. Pospisil) and the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament (d. Auger-Aliassime), will next face fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who improved to 8-2 lifetime against Benoit Paire after beating his eighth-seeded compatriot 6-4, 6-4 in 81 minutes.

Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah got their season going on Wednesday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco. The top seeds picked up their first team win of the season by taking out Luke Bambridge/Ben McLachlan 6-0, 7-5.

At the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, John Peers/Michael Venus upset top seeds and defending champions Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury 6-4, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals. Peers/Venus converted all four of their break point chances to defeat the reigning Australian Open champions in exactly one hour.

Third seeds Kevin Krawietz/Andreas Mies held off Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau 6-4, 6-7(7), 10-8 in first-round action. The reigning Roland Garros champion will face Jurgen Melzer/Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the next round.

Roberto Carballes Baena/Alejandro Davidovich Fokina were the first team to move into the semi-finals at the Chile Dove Men+Care Open. The Spanish duo upset third seeds Divij Sharan/Artem Sitak 6-3, 3-6, 10-4.

First-round action in Santiago saw second seeds Marcelo Arevalo/Jonny O’Mara battle past Roman Jebavy/Igor Zelenay 6-4, 4-6, 10-6. They’ll now play Federico Coria/Juan Ignacio Londero, who held off Sander Arends/David Pel 6-4, 1-6, 10-3.

Facundo Bagnis/Pablo Cuevas rounded out play with a 7-6(2), 6-4 win against Romain Arneodo/Andre Begemann.

American qualifier Tommy Paul scored the biggest win of his career on Wednesday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, shocking second seed Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals in Acapulco.

”It meant a lot. I was really excited to get out there and play. He put me under pressure in the first game and then from there, I played well for the rest of the match,” Paul said.

The victory is Paul’s first Top 10 win and another milestone in a breakout season for the 22-year-old. He currently sits at a career-high FedEx ATP Ranking of No. 66 after a strong start to the year that includes his first ATP Tour semi-final in Adelaide.

Just like in his first-round win on Tuesday against qualifier Jason Jung, Zverev dropped his opening service game and was plagued early on by double faults. The slight advantage was all Paul needed and he cracked a forehand winner on set point to take the early advantage.

Zverev raised his level in the second set and began to assert himself in the baseline rallies. But as the second seed stared down a break point at 4-4, he experienced more serving woes and hit a double fault to hand the break to Paul. The rising American comfortably held serve in the next game to advance after one hour and 29 minutes.

Next up for Paul is fifth seed John Isner, who put on a serving clinic in his 6-3, 7-6(4) win over fellow American Marcos Giron. Isner hammered 28 aces on the day and has hit 50 aces across his first two rounds. He defeated Paul in their lone ATP Head2Head meeting three years ago in Cincinnati.

Kyle Edmund continued his top form by scoring a 6-4, 6-4 upset against fourth-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Brit scored the lone break in each set to advance after one hour and 43 minutes. Auger-Aliassime had won nine of his past 11 matches after runner-up showings this month in Rotterdam (l. to Monfils) and Marseille (l. to Tsitsipas).

Edmund is also enjoying a strong run and extended his winning streak to seven matches. He captured his second ATP Tour title two weeks ago in New York (d. Seppi).

“He’s won a lot of matches and he’s seeing the ball big. Like him, I’m on a decent run as well,” Edmund said. “I liked how I created chances in both sets early. Overall, against a Top 20 player, it was a good result. I’m very pleased.”

Awaiting him in the quarter-finals is American Taylor Fritz, who cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 win over Frenchman Ugo Humbert. From 4-4 in the first set, Fritz went on a seven-game run en route to reaching his first quarter-final of the season. Fritz defeated Edmund in their lone ATP Head2Head meeting last year in Eastbourne.

Second seed Casper Ruud faced a vocal crowd and a determined opponent in wild card Alejandro Tabilo, but he held off the home favourite 6-4, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals on Wednesday at the Chile Dove Men+Care Open in Santiago.

A pair of double faults from Tabilo at 5-5 in the second set handed Ruud a break and the Norwegian closed out the win after one hour and 31 minutes. The 21-year-old has now won six of his past seven matches, capturing his maiden ATP Tour title two weeks ago in Buenos Aires (d. Sousa).

Awaiting him in the last eight is seventh-seeded Argentine Federico Delbonis, who moved past Salvatore Caruso 7-6(1), 6-3. The 29-year-old moved into his first ATP Tour quarter-final since last July in Bastad.

Sixth seed Hugo Dellien defeated local wild card Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera 6-3, 7-6(2) in their second-round clash. The Bolivian fought off two set points on his serve at 4-5 in the second set before eventually advancing into his first tour-level quarter-final of the year.

Next up for Dellien is Argentine qualifier Renzo Olivo, who saved two match points to upset fourth-seeded Uruguyan Pablo Cuevas 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(8). Olivo battled back from 6/7 and 7/8 in the third-set tie-break to prevail in three hours and 24 minutes.