No.2 seed Stan Wawrinka has revealed he has been giving himself pep talks after travelling to Dubai alone but it hasn’t stopped the Swiss star’s progress through to the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The World No.4 made light work of Frank Skugor, winning in straight-sets, 7-5 6-1, to set-up a last eight meeting with German Philipp Kohlschreiber, with the pair having last met at the Madrid Masters in 2008.

“I’ve had texts to say congrats and good luck (from coach Magnus Norman). I talk to myself with my brain,” the two-time Grand Slam winner joked in his post-match press conference.

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