The unfriendly rivalry between Stan Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios will add a second chapter on Friday in Dubai. Kyrgios’ hot streak has carried him into the semifinals as he aims for a second consecutive ATP title.

Stan Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the first time since one of the most well-documented incidents in ATP Tour history when they meet again in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Friday evening.

They faced each other twice last year, the first showdown coming and going without too much bad blood as Wawrinka prevailed 6-3, 6-4 on the grass courts of Queen’s Club. To say things escalated two months later at the Montreal Masters would be a gross understatement. Kyrgios advanced via retirement while leading 6-7(8), 6-3, 4-0, but it was what he famously muttered in Wawrinka’s direction that stole headlines not only in tennis circles but even in the entire sports world.



Kyrgios was hit with a provisional suspension of 28 days and a $25,000 fine that would only take effect only if he incurred more than $5,000 in fines at ATP-sanctioned tournaments in a sixth-month span. Coincidentally, that period ended on Wednesday.

For the most part the 20-year-old has let his game do the talking in 2016. After a relatively disappointing loss to Tomas Berdych in round three of the Australian Open, Kyrgios is a perfect 8-0–and it is Berdych who has felt the brunt of the hot streak. Kyrgios crushed the Czech 6-4, 6-2 in last week’s Marseille semifinals on the way to his first career ATP title and beat Berdych again 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday. The Aussie initially looked like he count not handle another event so soon after his triumph over Marin Cilic last Sunday, as he seemed lifeless for a set and a half against Martin Klizan on Tuesday. But Klizan let him off the ropes and Kyrgios clawed back for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory. He did not lose serve a single time against Mikhail Kukushkin or Berdych, meaning the world No. 33 has now progressed through seven of his last eight matches without getting broken.

Wawrinka lost in the Marseille quarterfinals to good friend Benoit Paire, thus denying a potential final collision between Wawrinka and Kyrgios. The fourth-ranked Swiss has bounced back in Dubai with defeats of Sergiy Stakhovsky (5-7, 6-3, 7-5), Franko Skugor (7-5, 6-1), and Philipp Kohlschreiber (7-5, 6-1).



Kyrgios showed signs of a back issue during his quarterfinal defeat of Berdych, but a huge opportunity awaits him if he is 100 percent. In his last four sets, the colorful but controversial character has fired 21 aces while holding all 19 of his service games. Wawrinka, who would much prefer to contest this matchup on a slower surface, has not served at better than 56 percent in any of his three outings this week.

Pick: Kyrgios in 3