World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov kept hopes of retaining his Brisbane International presented by Suncorp title alive by saving two match points on his way to a 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-3 win over John Millman on Thursday night.

The Bulgarian star saved match point at 5/6 and 6/7 in the second-set tie-break en route to extending his winning streak to six matches, which includes a title-run at the Nitto ATP Finals in November 2017. Dimitrov, reflecting on the two points, complimented Millman’s level while expressing delight at his great, instinctive play.

“He couldn’t have played the ball better,” said Dimitrov. “But also, at the same time, I thought I couldn’t have done anything else besides what I did. I think two of the shots in the first match point were pure instinct for me. So I’m pleased with it.”

Dimitrov, who has now reached the quarter-finals five times on his six appearances at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament beat World No. 128 Millman over two hours and 38 minutes. He will next play Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund in the quarter-finals on Friday.

The reigning champion, well aware of how close he came to a season-opening defeat, was quick to praise Millman who twice found himself just one point away from defeating his first Top 10 opponent in the ATP Rankings.

“I’ve seen him play quite a few times out here, playing really aggressive, striking the ball amazing, and it was no less tonight,” said Dimitrov. “I’m the winner today but he put himself in that position to win the match.

“I’m just very pleased [with] the way I played on those key points and especially on the match points. So I think that gives me a certain amount of confidence coming into any other match that I have to play now.”

After exchanging early breaks in the first set, Millman’s continued pressure on the Dimitrov serve paid off at the tail-end of the opener. The 28-year-old managed to win almost half of all points (23/48) on the Bulgarian’s serve and in the 10th game, a second breakthrough came for Millman who took the set 6-4.

A dramatic second set followed with both men breaking serve before reaching a tie-break and it was there that Millman manufactured two match points for the biggest win of his career. But the four-time 2017 titlist on the ATP World Tour was not to be denied, saving the first in an epic rally at the net and a second with an aggressive forehand into the corner. But Millman had no regrets on his strategy, complimenting his rival’s level for the epic match point save.

“I went for a body serve. Maybe I should have gone for an ace. Who knows? Hindsight is a great thing,” said Millman.“I made him play five, six backhands, then he’s come in and he’s played a volley that’s taken out nearly both lines. I managed to get him to play another volley, and he played another volley back the other way. What else can I do on that point?”

Dimitrov would later convert his second set point to win the tie-break and level the match. From that point, the 26-year-old motored through the decider with a break in the fourth game and a near-perfect performance on points behind his first serve (17/18). An emotional Millman reflected on what might have been, had either of the two points gone differently, and what it would have meant for his career.

“I gave it everything,” said Millman. “I can be proud of giving it everything. That’s tennis. You win some, you lose some. It would have really been one of the most special nights of my career if I had won against a player like Grigor in front of my home crowd, who stuck it out well past midnight to watch me play. It would have been one of the highlights of my career.”

Now unbeaten in six matches, Dimitrov will attempt to keep that streak alive in his quarter-final match against Kyle Edmund. The British No. 2 defeated #NextGenATP champion Hyeon Chung 7-6(3), 5-7 6-4 earlier in the day.

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Top seed Marin Cilic barely put a foot wrong on Thursday to advance to the Tata Open Maharashtra semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over eighth-seeded Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert in 64 minutes. The Croatian lost just one of his first service points (23/24) and struck seven aces as he continued his bid to win a third title on Indian soil, following victories in 2009 and 2010, when the ATP World Tour 250 tournament was held in Chennai.

Cilic will next challenge France’s Gilles Simon, who was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Spanish qualifier Ricardo Ojeda Lara. In other action today, second-seeded South African Kevin Anderson meets Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, whilst fifth-seeded Dutchman Robin Haase takes on fourth seed and wild card Benoit Paire of France.

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Top seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers dismissed home favourites Matthew Ebden and John Millman 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday to advance to the semi-finals of Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.

Kontinen/Peers, who won the Nitto ATP Finals doubles title in November, struck seven aces and broke four times to advance in 60 minutes. They will next meet Grigor Dimitrov and Ryan Harrison, who squeaked past another Aussie team in Nick Kyrgios and Matt Reid 7-6(2), 7-6(3).

A third semi-final spot was secured by Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and New Zealand’s Artem Sitak, who beat American Steve Johnson and Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6(6), 7-5. In first-round action, second seeds Marcelo Demoliner of Brazil and New Zealand’s Michael Venus beat Nicholas Monroe of the U.S. and John-Patrick Smith of Australia 4-6, 6-3, 10-5.

They changed sports and surfaces, switching from a football pitch to a tennis court. But on Wednesday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, the outcome was the same when Dominic Thiem and Aljaz Bedene faced off in the second round in Doha.

As Thiem’s football team did during the off-season, the Austrian outplayed the Slovenian, advancing to the quarter-finals of his first tournament of the 2018 season, 7-5, 6-4.

Thiem had plenty of opportunities in the early-evening match, earning 15 break points, including 10 in the second set, against Bedene, who now plays for Slovenia after switching from Great Britain last month. But Thiem converted only three of those break-point opportunities.

Still, he was pleased to improve to 2-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. “First set was good I converted break points fine,” said Thiem, who was two-for-five on break points in the opener. “But second set I think I missed too many chances… In general I’m very happy.”

Thiem will next face Frenchman Richard Gasquet or #NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who play the final evening match on Wednesday.

Read More: Tsitsipas Focused On Key Targets In 2018

In 2017, #NextGenATP Andrey Rublev didn’t reach a quarter-final until June, at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle. But three days into the new year, the Russian has already advanced to his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of 2018.

Rublev improved to 2-1 against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, beating the seventh seed 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The 20-year-old Rublev saved seven of 11 break points, and will next meet Croatia’s Borna Coric.

The 21-year-old Coric, who knocked out second seed and World No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round, routed Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, 6-1, 6-3. Coric broke five times and won 54 per cent of his return points (32/59).

Nick Kyrgios’ NK Foundation and Fundatia Curtea Veche, supported by 2017 Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award recipient Horia Tecau, are among nine recipients to have been selected for the 2018 ATP ACES for Charity grant programme. Grants of $/€15,000 will be awarded to a total of nine charitable causes, nominated by ATP World Tour players, tournaments and alumni.

This year’s grant recipients aim to make a difference to the lives of many through their work in sport, disability and education. Through access to sport and reading materials respectively, both the NK Foundation and Tecau’s campaign will look to improve the lives of children and young people from underprivileged backgrounds. Other grant beneficiaries include Stop War Start Tennis, Fundación Emilio Sánchez Vicario, Futuros para el Tenis, The Champions Volunteer Foundation, Dubai Autism Centre, Academia Dos Champs and Hand in Hand Foundation.

The ATP ACES For Charity program, which launched in 2011, is a global initiative aimed at giving back to communities where ATP World Tour events are played, as well as recognising and supporting tournament, player and alumni charitable initiatives. Since 2011, the grant programme has awarded 85 grants totalling more than $1,000,000 in donations.

More about ATP ACES For Charity

The recipients of the 2018 ATP ACES For Charity grants are:

Nick Kyrgios: The NK Foundation strives to increase access and provide sport to underprivileged and disadvantaged youths. With the motivation to give every child who dreams of playing sport the opportunity they dream of, NK Foundation plans to build a sports centre in Melbourne complete with dormitories for those who may also need to take shelter. The ATP ACES for Charity grant will be used to contribute towards the cost of building a centre which will feature four tennis courts, two basketball courts, a gym, a swimming pool and 10 self-contained dormitory facilities.

Feliciano Lopez & Emilio Sanchez: Fundación Emilio Sánchez Vicario works to enhance personal development and social skills of individuals through sports and education. The grant will be used to fund activities and education for disabled people with four tennis schools and a paddle tennis school dedicated to those who suffer from physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities all set to benefit. Lopez and Fundación Emilio Sánchez Vicario will also support a special cause in honour of Casper Fernandez, a mutual friend and student at Academia Sánchez-Casal in Florida, who recently died of bone cancer.

Hans Podlipnik-Castillo: Futuros para el Tenis aims, through tennis and education, to help young children at social risk, in Chile, obtain university scholarships around the world. Founded in 2003, Futuros para el Tenis has set up a tennis school with two hard courts, a hitting wall and a small club house and now works with 220 children aged 4-18. The Foundation will use their ATP ACES for Charity grant to pay for a full year’s tennis programme for children in the most critical state of social risk covering coaching, equipment, tournament and educational costs. There are also plans for an English language programme to help increase the probability of achieving a university education in later life.

Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi: Stop War Start Tennis aims to promote peace through tennis, helping victims of war resume an active lifestyle. Qureshi’s foundation works to build bridges in communities where there have been walls and has served as a vehicle for official visits to countries suffering from the effects of conflict. The ATP ACES for Charity grant will help to supply equipment such as prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs and hearing aids while also funding a book donation project and the acquisition of expert instructors to specifically help those with disabilities and special needs.

Horia Tecau: Fundația Curtea Veche contributes to the well-being of future adults by improving children’s education through reading. Promoting reading as a fun, spare-time activity, the association organises interactive reading workshops and enables children from underprivileged backgrounds to gain access to books through book clubs and donation schemes. The ATP ACES for Charity grant will support the ‘Life in the Rhythm of Tennis’ book donation campaign which will combine reading and sports featuring lessons from Tecau’s children’s book. The grant will be used to fund visits to 10 Romanian cities where 5000 children can learn new skills or improve on existing ones with support from a strong sporting infrastructure.

Gazprom Hungarian Open (Budapest): Hand in Hand Foundation works for a tolerant society in which individuals with disabilities can live with dignity. The Foundation helps disabled people and their families and carers through various aspects of life such as education, health and family care, employment and recreation. The Gazprom Hungarian Open and Hand in Hand Foundation will specifically use the ATP ACES for Charity grant to kick-off a large-scale event for 300 children aged 6-10 during the 2018 tournament. This event will include a wheelchair tennis clinic for both disabled and able-bodied children and a mini-tennis clinic involving ATP players and top Hungarian wheelchair tennis players. The grant will also provide four new junior-sized sports wheelchairs.

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships: Dubai Autism Centre, founded in 2001, encourages a better understanding of autism and provides specialist services for those who have autism and the people who care for them. With focused efforts to increase social awareness, Dubai Autism Centre aims to successfully integrate children with autism into the local community through a holistic approach to intervention and therapies. With a strong belief in the importance of involving the entire community during the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the ATP ACES for Charity grant will fund this year’s ‘Special Needs Kids Day’ during next month’s tournament. The day will provide the children with an opportunity to interact with their favourite players and to also enjoy the event from the stands with tickets and meals provided.

Millennium Estoril Open: Academia Dos Champs teaches tennis as an innovative tool to instil strong, positive guidelines in underprivileged children and young adults. The academy promotes the benefits of sport and how it transcends social classes, backgrounds and life circumstances while rewarding effort and dedication. With over 260 students across 10 centres, Academia Dos Champs has held 10,058 lessons since 2009 and now over half of their overall student population will benefit from 1108 tennis lessons funded by the ATP ACES for Charity grant. The lessons will be held at three centres in the Cascais municipality, home to the Millennium Estoril Open.

BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells): The Champions Volunteer Foundation raises and redistributes funds to the local community through other organisations that support but are not limited to youth, recreational, educational and well-care programmes. The Foundation, which provides more than 1200 volunteers for the BNP Paribas Open every March, centres their attention on non-profit organisations in the Coachella Valley who support the most vulnerable and marginalised members of the community. The ATP ACES for Charity grant allows the foundation to increase the number of grants they can award to keep up with the growing demand from the local area for financial assistance.