Wawrinka reaches Dubai final after Kyrgios retires hurt

SPORTS

Wawrinka reaches Dubai final after Kyrgios retires hurt

Sandra Harwitt The Associated Press
Published Friday, February 26, 2016 9:56AM EST

In this Feb. 24, 2016 file photo, Stan Wawrinka from Switzerland returns the ball to Franko Skugor from Croatia during the 3rd day of Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP / Kamran Jebreili)

Text:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Stan Wawrinka advanced to the Dubai Tennis Championships final after Nick Kyrgios of Australia retired during their semifinal with a back injury on Friday.

Wawrinka was leading 6-4, 3-0 at the time.

He will be looking for his second title of the year when he plays either sixth-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain or unseeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.

For the second day in a row, Kyrgios received treatment on his back during a match. On Friday, the physiotherapist came to the court during the seventh game changeover.

Kyrgios is the second significant retirement in two days at Dubai. Novak Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal with infected eyes on Thursday.

Wawrinka took a commanding 4-1 lead in the first set, but Kyrgios fought back to even the score at 4-4. From that point, Wawrinka won the final five games.