Jo Wilfried Tsonga became the first man through to the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Championships after scheduled opponent Nikolay Davydenko pulled out of their last 16 match on Wednesday.
The Russian withdrew because of a rib injury, meaning the No 5 seed did not have to set foot on court to progress.
The Frenchman will meet either Tomas Berdych, the No 3 seed and finalist in last year’s competition, or Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky for a place in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, the No 4 seed and five-time champion in Dubai, will both be in action in the evening session Wednesday.
Djokovic takes on Roberto Bautista Agut after Federer has gone on up against Radek Stepanek.
Meanwhile, the Arab world’s top-ranked player progressed to the last eight stage after coming out on top during a second round tie billed as a “Clash of the Wildcards”.
Malek Jaziri, a 30 year-old Tunisian, defeated Somdev Devvarman of India 6-3, 7-5 at the Aviation Club to secure a place in the last eight of an ATP tournament for the first time since he reached the semi-final of the Kremlin Cup in October 2012.
Wildcard Devvarman progressed following Juan Martin del Potro’s retirement on Tuesday, while Jaziri – who was competing in Mexico last week when he accepted the invite from Dubai organisers – fought back from a 0-6 first set defeat to beat Dutchman Igor Sijsling 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in his first round tie.
“I arrived here after a long trip: 24-hours, three planes,” Jaziri said. “It was not easy to arrive by Sunday night and I was afraid I would only be able to play one set, yet now I’m in the quarter-finals, so I’m very happy.”
Under the harsh mid-day sun, Jaziri served strongly, notching five aces in the opening set, and showed good movement throughout. Devvarman did not wilt, yet rarely threatened also.
“All the match was so-so, but on important points I served well,” Jaziri said. “I tried to play more often at the front of the court and to play my own game and fight on the court. Now I’ll try to recover as best I can to be ready for [today’s] match.”
Jaziri, ranked No 137 in the world, will face Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-3, later today. The two players have met only once before, in the second round at Wimbledon two years ago. Kohlscreiber won in three straight sets.
“I have a lot of experience and more confidence now,” Jaziri said. “I’ll try to focus on my game and myself and hope I’ll be ready.”
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