Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2016: ATP Scores and Results from Thursday

A struggle with an eye problem forced Novak Djokovic to retire after one set against Feliciano Lopez at the 2016 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday.

Lopez had won the first set 6-3, and Djokovic had already called out the physio to have a look at his eye before eventually calling it quits, ending a run of 17 straight tour final appearances for the Serb, per BBC Sport.

Stan Wawrinka cruised past Philipp Kohlschreiber into the semi-finals, beating the German 7-5, 6-1. The 30-year-old played his best match of the tournament so far and was never troubled by Kohlschreiber, who kept the first set close but was a step too slow in the rallies throughout the second.

Nick Kyrgios knocked out Tomas Berdych, winning 6-4, 6-4, while Marcos Baghdatis caused a minor shock, beating Roberto Bautista Agut. 

Here's a look at Thursday's results:

Stan Wawrinka	7-5, 6-1	Philipp Kohlschreiber
Nick Kyrgios	6-4, 6-4	Tomas Berdych
Marcos Baghdatis	7-5, 6-0	Roberto Bautista Agut
Feliciano Lopez	6-3, 0-0 (ret.)	Novak Djokovic

Recap

Djokovic clearly didn't look himself on Thursday, making 18 unforced errors in just nine games during the first set against Lopez, and after dropping the set against the Spaniard, he always seemed likely to retire.

Per MailSport's Stuart Fraser, the Serb hadn't been forced to retire in some time:

It ends a remarkable run of 17 straight tour finals and robs the fans in Dubai of watching the world No. 1 do his thing in the semi-finals, where he would have met Baghdatis.

Instead, Lopez will go head-to-head with the Cypriot, and after playing just a single set on Thursday, the Spaniard should have the fresher legs.

Wawrinka's serve looked a little shaky in the first set, but the Swiss star did plenty of damage on Kohlschreiber's second serve, which led to plenty of breaks and superb action from the baseline.

The two served up some fantastic tennis at times, with this exchange one of the most exciting, via TennisTV:

Wawrinka raised his game just enough to grab the first set, winning 7-5, and he broke Kohlschreiber's serve again early in the second set, cruising to an easy win from that point onward.

Per tennis writer Ricky Dimon, Kohlschreiber didn't provide much resistance:

Last year's French Open winner is yet to find his best form in Dubai, but his performance against Kohlschreiber was more than encouraging, and he should like his chances against the in-form Kyrgios.

Kyrgios' fantastic run continued with a two-set win over Berdych—his second defeat of the Czech in six days. Per Christopher Clarey of the New York Times, the 20-year-old from Australia is starting to live up to his enormous potential, and he wonders whether he'll be taking the step up to stardom soon:

The win wasn't as straightforward as the set scores might suggest, as Kyrgios struggled with a back injury and required treatment in between games. The pain didn't seem to impact his ability to serve, as he bagged 10 aces and saved all four break points he faced.

Berdych failed to do much on his second serve, as he couldn't find enough depth to push Kyrgios out of the court and found himself on the back foot in the rallies as a result. Per ProTennisLive.com, the Czech won over 80 per cent of points in his first serve but less than half on his second.

As reported by the ATP World Tour's official website, Kyrgios said he also battled illness, and he was a little surprised with his own performance as a result:

"

I wasn't in the greatest shape. I think I got a bit of food poisoning last night. I was really surprised with the performance I gave out there today to come out there and beat a quality player and in tough conditions. It's probably my favourite win over the past couple of weeks.

It's tough, especially with Tomas. He's so diligent with everything he does. He's so professional. So for me to come out there and put in a great performance like that, I just took my chances when they came.

"

Baghdatis grabbed a 7-5, 6-0 win over Bautista Agut despite struggling mightily with his serve. He beat the Spaniard from the baseline and converted key chances at the right times.

As shared by TennisTV, the Cypriot's stats at the end of the first half looked dreadful, yet he somehow managed to move ahead:

Bautista Agut converted just one of his six break points and collapsed in the 11th game of the first set. His serve suddenly lost its groove, and he would go on to lose eight games in a row to bow out of the tournament.

The 30-year-old Baghdatis is slowly working his way back up the rankings after some struggles in the past few years, and this semi-final berth should push him back into the top 50 when the next rankings come out.

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