A 5.6 earthquake hit Taipei, Taiwan, on Wednesday night, but it didn’t faze the players competing in this week’s ATP Challenger Tour event there.

The earthquake was the first of 26 to rock eastern Taiwan between 11:17 p.m. on Wednesday and 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, and was also recorded as the strongest one. Luckily, there were no reports of damage or injuries and it was business as usual on Thursday for the players still on site this week.

“I was sleeping when it happened,” said Luke Saville. “It was a little bit scary, but it was okay once I realised what it was.”

Although this was the first earthquake many of the players had experienced, others were more well-versed in dealing with them.

“It happened when I played in Los Angeles and then in Japan for Davis Cup,” said Amir Weintraub. “This one wasn’t too big, though.”

Semi-final action in Taipei kicks off on Saturday and features No. 1 seed Ricardas Berankis, who is currently on a 13-match winning streak and looking for his third consecutive ATP Challenger Tour title. 

Grigor Dimitrov is one match win away from reaching his eighth ATP World Tour final, having advanced to the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open semi-finals for the second year running.

Second seed Dimitrov recovered to beat sixth seed Jiri Vesely 7-6(1), 6-1 in 77 minutes on Friday. Dimitrov fought back from a 2-5 deficit in the first set and saved one set point at 4-5, when Vesely was serving at 40/30.

“With each match, I’m building up a good foundation to play better,” Dimitrov said. “Tomorrow I am going to keep doing that.”

He awaits third seed Ivo Karlovic, who recorded the 301st match win of his career 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 6-4 against fifth seed Marcel Granollers. Karlovic struck 20 aces and was not broken in the two-hour, 13-minute encounter.

Fourth seed Federico Delbonis will meet fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman for a place in Sunday’s final. “We know each other very well and we know what one another will do,” said Delbonis. “I’m happy to be in the semi-finals.”

Delbonis maintained his recent run of form by beating eighth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(6), 6-4 in one hour and 56 minutes, having saved one set point at 5/6 in the first set tie-break. This month’s Marrakech champion (d. Coric) is now 19-9 on the year.

Schwartzman advanced to the semi-finals for the second successive year after he battled past Damir Dzumhur 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-2 in two hours and 48 minutes. Schwartzman beat top seed Bernard Tomic in the second round.

Tennis fans are used to a coin toss to decide which player will serve first in a match, but this week’s ATP Challenger Tour event in Taipei, Taiwan, is putting a unique twist on this customary practice.

The tournament is showcasing some of the local culture by using jiaobei blocks in lieu of a standard coin. Made out of wood or bamboo and then carved into a crescent shape, the divination blocks are traditionally thrown in pairs to answer a yes or no question. Although they are more commonly found in temples and home shrines as a means of attempting to receive an answer from the gods, only the tennis gods are being called upon at this week’s Challenger to help answer who will kick off the match.

“I’ve played matches in countries across the globe. I’ve seen all kinds of coins and currencies used to decide who serves first, but never the traditional wooden pieces used here in Taipei,” said Liam Broady, who advanced into the quarter-finals on Thursday. “I had to query the umpire more than once on how they would decide who served because I didn’t understand how they worked. I think it’s a fun way to change the routine of starting a tennis match.”

Play continues on Friday in Taipei and features No. 1 seed Ricardas Berankis, who is currently riding a 13-match winning streak on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Gilles Simon overcame a challenge from fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu to prevail 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 at the Millennium Estoril Open on Thursday. The top seed, who trailed the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 1-3 heading into the match, landed fewer than half of his first serves on the day, but won 61 per cent of second serve points to advance.

In his third ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season (Miami and Marrakech), Simon will take on Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who beat Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-4, 7-5. It will be the pair’s first tour-level meeting.

“I needed to be focused all the time against Taro,” Carreno Busta said. “I almost lost the second set today. He practices in Valencia so he’s like a Spanish player. I know him well and he is tough.”

Home favourite Joao Sousa, seeded fourth, was eliminated by Nicolas Almagro 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the second round. The Spaniard fired 13 aces and broke serve four times to secure the win in one hour and 42 minutes. The 30 year old is into his second quarter-final of 2016, having made the final in Buenos Aires (l. to Thiem).

Top Seeds Beat Local Team In Doubles

Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski of Poland eliminated Portuguese Gastao Elias and Joao Sousa from doubles contention with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 quarter-final win. The top seeds landed 77 per cent of first serves and broke Elias/Sousa five times in the 75-minute encounter.

#NextGen player Borna Coric teamed up with countryman Franko Skugor to down Jonathan Erlich and Colin Fleming 6-4, 6-4. The Croats saved all three break points faced and will face Kubot/Matkowski in the semi-finals.