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.

The Next Generation will take centre stage Friday when Nick Kyrgios and Borna Coric go head-to-head in the Millennium Estoril Open quarter-finals. Kyrgios, who celebrated his 21st birthday Wednesday, and the 19-year-old Coric lead the 21-and-under pack at respectively No. 20 and No. 40 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

While this may be the first time they will face off in ATP World Tour action, it wasn’t too long ago that the Australian and Croatian competed against each other on the ITF Junior Circuit. Kyrgios, 18 months Coric’s senior, claimed their two singles meetings – in the 2012 Osaka semi-finals and the 2013 Roehampton quarter-finals – in straight sets.

“The only thing I remember was the surface they were on,” said Kyrgios, who went on to win the title at both tournaments. “I played him once on grass and I think the other time was on hard court. He’s improved a lot, we’ve both improved, and we’ve both gone different paths. He’s developed in different ways. He’s a great player, but last time I played him was on the grass and I was a lot more comfortable, I think, on that surface. Tomorrow’s going to be a great match either way.”

Kyrgios and Coric made their tour-level breakthroughs in 2014 when they finished as the two teenagers in the Top 100. That season, Kyrgios defeated then-World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the fourth round on his Wimbledon debut. A few months later, Coric also defeated then-No. 3 Nadal to reach his first ATP World Tour semi-final in Basel; the result propelled him into the Top 100 and made him the winner of the inaugural ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates award, seizing the distinction of youngest player in the year-end Top 100 from Kyrgios.

Coric continued his rise in 2015, reaching a career-high No. 33 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in July. He began 2016 by reaching his first ATP World Tour final at the Aircel Chennai Open (l. to Wawrinka), and followed with a runner-up effort at the Grand Prix Hassan II earlier this month (l. to Delbonis).

“He was always a guy that was really good on both wings,” said Kyrgios. “Solid serve, solid returning. He’s developed every aspect of his game. He moves well now. He doesn’t really miss. He plays similar, but he’s just sort of gotten a lot better in every aspect.”

Kyrgios could say the same thing for himself. Since defeating Nadal at Wimbledon, Kyrgios has gone on to record six more Top 10 wins (7-13), most notably against No. 2 Roger Federer last year in Madrid. This past February, he became the first member of the Next Generation to win a singles title, recording Top 10 victories over Richard Gasquet and Tomas Berdych before defeating Marin Cilic in the Open 13 Provence final. He broke into the Top 20 earlier this month after defeating Milos Raonic to reach his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final in Miami.

“[Kyrgios] is the favourite so I have nothing to lose,” said Coric. “But I’ll never come into a match with the mindset that I can’t win. I’ll do my best but I’ll be there to win. It will be an enjoyable match for sure.”

Win or lose, Kyrgios anticipated the quarter-final clash to be the first of a bright new rivalry.  

“It’s important, but at the same time, I think we’re going to play a lot of times in the future as well so, to be honest, I don’t think it really matters,” said Kyrgios. “If he wins tomorrow, I’ll just say, ‘Good luck and go get your first title,’ and if I win, I’m going to come out the next day and just play again.”

Roger Federer has confirmed that he will take part in the Mutua Madrid Open, which starts on 1 May. Federer, No.3 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is a three-time champion at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event (2006, 2009 and 2012).

Madrid was not on Federer’s schedule at the beginning of the year, but the Swiss’ agent, Tony Godsick, confirmed today that he will play. Last year, Federer lost in the second round to Nick Kyrgios, 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(12).

The 34 year old comes into the event with a 10-3 record in 2016. Madrid will be Federer’s second clay-court tournament of the season and his fourth of the year. He reached the final of Brisbane (l. to Raonic) and the semi-finals of the Australian Open (l. to Djokovic) before missing three months due to knee surgery. In his comeback event, he reached the quarter-finals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters before losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets.