Roger Federer of Switzerland holds the Brisbane Open men's singles trophy at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, January 11, 2015. Federer defeated Milos Raonic of Canada in three sets to mark his 1,000th career title.
Roger Federer of Switzerland holds the Brisbane Open men's singles trophy at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, January 11, 2015. Federer defeated Milos Raonic of Canada in three sets to mark his 1,000th career title. REUTERS/Jason Reed

Defending champion Roger Federer will battle Grigor Dimitrov for the fourth time in their careers. The duo will be playing for a place in the final four in the 2016 Brisbane International.

Top seed Federer showed fine form as he cruised past his second-round opening match against German qualifier Tobias Kamke, 6-2 6-1. Kamke previously beat Aussie wild card Benjamin Mitchell to book a second-round clash with the Swiss Maestro.

Dimitrov, on the other hand, beat Viktor Troicki in three-sets, 5-7 7-6(6) 6-2 to progress in Brisbane. The Haskovo native fought past fifth seed Gilles Simon, the first seeded player to bid farewell in the tournament, in his opening match 6-3 7-6(10).

This time last year, Federer and Dimitrov faced each other in the semifinals in Brisbane with the 17-time Grand Slam champion proving too good for the Bulgarian tennis star as he beat him in straight sets, 6-2 6-2 to claim his 999th career-match victory.

Federer owns a 3-0 head-to-head advantage over Dimitrov winning against the 24-year-old on home turf in the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors Basel in 2013 and 2014. Federer and Dimitrov are set to return to the Pat Rafter Arena on Friday, not before 7 p.m. local time.

Also happening on Friday’s quarterfinal action is the match between 2015 finalist Milos Raonic and Lucas Pouille of France. Australian seventh seed will also take on Kei Nishikori to secure a semifinal berth. Third seed Marin Cilic will play Austrian rising star Dominic Thiem on Show Court 1.

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