Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Day 5: As it happened

Nick Kyrgios, right, of Australia shakes hands with Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland after retiring during their semi final match at Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai on 26 February 2016. EPA/ALI HAIDERShow less

The National's Ahmed Rizvi and Jon Turner are at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to bring you live reports from the ATP tournament. Check back for up-to-the-minute updates.

Wawrinka advances to final after Kyrgios retires

Stan Wawrinka is through to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final after Nick Kyrgios retired injured with a back problem on Friday afternoon.

Wawrinka, 28, was leading Kyrgios 6-4, 3-0, when the 20-year-old Australian conceded the match. The world No 4 and reigning French Open champion will face either Spain’s Feliciano Lopez or Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis on Saturday for the title.

Read match report: Stan Wawrinka surging in Dubai while Nick Kyrgios joins tournament's growing injury list

Kyrgios seemed to be struggling with his movement early in the match and was broken twice as Wawrinka stormed into a 4-1 lead. Kyrgios managed to fight his way back to parity, but Wawrinka broke again for a 5-4 lead before closing out the set.

Kyrgios continued to struggle in the second set before heading to the net to retire.

Baghdatis tops Lopez and will meet Wawrinka in final

Marcos Baghdatis will meet Stan Wawrinka in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships after the Cypriot fought back from a set down to defeat Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-1 in a semi-final that kept the packed stands entertained.

Read match report: 'It's all about fighting': Marcos Baghdatis denies Feliciano Lopez a final chance in Dubai

Baghdatis, ranked No 57 in the world, dropped the first after losing his serve in the eight game, but came back to clinch the second set in the tie-break and then broke Lopez, the No 6 seed, three times to wrap up the deciding set in a mere 32 minutes.

Italians Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi reach men’s doubles final

Italian pair Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi are through to the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships men’s doubles final after a 6-4, 6-4 win over Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski.

In a remarkable display of serving, the Italians never faced a single break point, and as such all they required was a break in each set to secure the victory.

Bolelli and Seppi threatened from the first game of the match, but Kubot and Matkowski staved off two break points to hold firm. The Polish pair could not repeat the effort in Game 5 when they dropped serve having saved another two break points. From then, the rest of the set went with serve, until the Italians closed out to love.

The match was all but won after the first game of the second set when Bolelli and Seppi earned their second break of the match, and much like the opener, the rest of the set went with serve until the Italians wrapped up the win.

Bolelli and Seppi will face the winner of the other semi-final between Spanish pair Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez, and Hyeon Chung and Jiri Vesely, which took place late last night on Centre Court.

Feliciano was looking to banish his earlier disappointment of missing out on a place in the final of the singles tournament after he lost to Marcos Baghdatis in three sets on Friday.

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ORDER OF PLAY

Centre Court

From 2pm

• Simone Bolelli (ITA) / Andreas Seppi (ITA) vs Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcin Matkowski (POL)

• Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs Nick Kyrgios (AUS)

From 7pm

• Feliciano Lopez (ESP) vs Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)

• Feliciano Lopez (ESP) / Marc Lopez (ESP) vs Hyeon Chung (KOR) / Jiri Vesely (CZE)

Matches shown of Abu Dhabi Sports and Dubai Sports

MATCH OF THE DAY

2-Stan Wawrinka (SUI) v Nick Kyrgios (AUS)

The first match between the two since the infamous incident at the Roger’s Cup in Montreal last August. But even without that particular subplot, this showdown must not be missed. Kyrgios is on a stunning run of form and faces one of tennis’ elite players for a place in the final. Big serving and big hitting, expect a shoot-out from the back of the court between two players with the ability to produce breathtaking tennis.

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