Brisbane: World number three Grigor Dimitrov saved two match points as he outlasted Australian wildcard John Millman in the second round of the Brisbane International on Thursday.

Playing his first match of the tournament after having a first round bye, Dimitrov took just over two-and-a-half hours to subdue the gallant Millman 4-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-3.

The defending champion will now play rising British star Kyle Edmund, who earlier beat 18-year-old Korean Chung Hyeon 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-4.

The Brisbane born and raised Millman looked like going one step further against Dimitrov when he brought up two match points in the tiebreaker, only for the Bulgarian to play some inspired tennis to save both.

American Ryan Harrison downed Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-2, while Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan was too strong for US player Jared Donaldson 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.

Pliskova survives

Defending champion Karolina Pliskova survived a massive scare from Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi to move into the semi-finals of the Brisbane International on Thursday.

Second seed Pliskova lost the first set to an inspired Kanepi and was down 3-1 in the second before launching an epic comeback, winning 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and 11 minutes.

Svitolina reached the final four when Konta was forced to retire with an injury at 2-3 in the third set.

Konta had raced through the first set before Svitolina recovered to take the second in a tiebreak. But Konta felt a problem with her right hip in her first service game of the third set and opted to withdraw, with Svitolina winning 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 3-2.

Sharapova cruises

Maria Sharapova admitted that she needed to play far better after the Russian eased into the semi-finals of the Shenzhen Open on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan.

The former number one, who has worked her way up to 59 in the world rankings since her return from a doping ban last year, will face the Czech sixth seed and defending champion Katerina Siniakova in the last four in southern China. The 30-year-old Sharapova, who is unseeded in the tournament that serves as a build-up to the Australian Open, is embarking on her first full season since returning from a 15-month drugs ban in April.

The other semi-final is between Irina Begu and fellow Romanian Simona Halep, the reigning world number one. Halep, guaranteed top seeding for this month’s Australian Open, blew away Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-2, 6-2.

Agence France-Presse