Andy Murray has cruised past John Isner in straight sets in the quarter-finals of the ATP event in Vienna to keep alive his quest to be the world No.1.
The Scot encountered few difficulties en route to a 6-1 6-3 success over Isner as the big American battled a hand injury during the 74 minutes the pair were out on court.
Murray faces defending champion David Ferrer in the final four on Saturday knowing a tournament victory in Austria, coupled with a success at next week's Masters event in Paris would see him reach the peak of the rankings for the first time in his career, as long as incumbent Novak Djokovic does not reach the final in France.
"I was then able to dictate most points from the back of the court. I think I returned pretty good, though. It was important to put him under a bit of pressure especially from the beginning of the match," Murray said.
Earlier, defending champion Ferrer held off a match point and won the last four games to beat Serbia's Viktor Troicki 6-3 3-6 7-5.
"There were a lot of rallies. It was a good match," said Ferrer, who complained about muscle cramps in his left leg.
"Viktor played some very good tennis in the first two sets. On the important points I was a bit more aggressive and lucky."
Former champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will take on eighth-seeded Ivo Karlovic in the other semi-final.
Tsonga defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain 6-2 7-6 (7-5) for his third semi-final appearance of the season.
The 15th-ranked Frenchman lost the previous two, in Auckland and Monte Carlo.
