Roger Federer also made it through to the last four.
World No 4 Andy Murray wasted six match points and overcame a knee injury to beat Tomas Berdych 6-3 7-5 in the Dubai Tennis Championships quarterfinals on Thursday, while Roger Federer also made it through to the last four.
“I had a problem with it (the knee) since Brisbane and it’s come and gone,” Murray said after a match played in searing desert heat.
“It was a bit sore right before the tournament. I didn’t feel it at all in the first couple of matches, and then right at the beginning of the second set I felt it.
“It’s not something that stops me sort of running around. I want to try and get rid of it, because there are a lot of big events coming up.”
Murray will meet Novak Djokovic in the last-four should the world No 1 overcome compatriot Janko Tipsarevic later on Thursday. World No 3 Federer will play either Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro or France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Friday’s other semifinal after defeating Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-4 as dusk set in.
Federer had won all their 11 previous meetings stretching back 12 years and Youzhny never looked like ending his losing streak after slumping to 3-1 down in the first set. Federer saw out the first set with a fierce serve the ailing Youzhny could only club long.
Bhupathi, Bopanna in quarters
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna beat Lukas Dlouhy and Alexandr Dolgopolov to enter the men’s doubles quarterfinals. Bhupathi-Bopanna defeated the Czech-Russian pair 6-4 7-5 in the opening round on Wednesday. They next face Australian-English combine of Paul Hanley and Jamie Murray in a late-night match on Thursday. Earlier on Wednesday, another Indian Leander Paes alongside Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic lost 4-6 5-7 to second seeds Robert Lindstedt of Sweden and Horia Tecau of Romania.
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