World No.1 Rafael Nadal dug deep to maintain his chances of defending his Rome Masters tennis title with a gutsy come-from-behind 1-6 6-3 7-5 win over Andy Murray on Friday in the quarter-finals.
Murray had won only five of his past 18 matches against Nadal but held the bragging rights from their most-recent two - the last a victory in the Tokyo Open final in 2011 - both hardcourt events.
Despite form doubts lingering following a long absence due to back surgery late last year, Murray produced a stunning performance to underline his form ahead of the French Open later this month.
"I feel liked I've played good matches and given him (Nadal) a lot of problems.
"I would have liked to have won tonight's match because I had the opportunities.
"I just messed it up a little bit. You don't get loads of chances ... so I'm disappointed at that.
"But he finished the match very well. He won the last three games."
The Scot won the opening set 6-1, leaving claycourt king Nadal to tinker with tactics.
In a much tighter third set, Nadal maintained his momentum by winning three breaks to two for Murray.
The Spaniard broke in the first game, only for Murray to break back immediately in the second in which the Scot pull off a stunning pull-back shot which stunned Nadal and had the crowd in raptures.
"I don't know how he hit the ball, you don't expect a shot like this," admitted the Spaniard.
The British No.1 held serve to go 2-1 in front. Both players held serve in the next two games and, with the score at 3-2, Murray broke again for a two-game lead.
Sensing defeat, the Spaniard upped his game and broke back to level at 4-4.
"I played a poor game at 4-2 (up). I rushed a little bit. I was being very patient for most of the match and waiting for the right ball," added Murray.
Both players held serve over the next two games, but Nadal raced to triple break point in the 11th game before converting for a third time in the set for a 6-5 lead and then serving out for the win.
"It's a victory that really means a lot to me," said Nadal.
"It's a great feeling for me being in semi-finals, especially winning against Andy."
Nadal will meet Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the semis on Saturday, when No.2 seed Novak Djokovic faces Canada's Milos Raonic.
Djokovic ousted David Ferrer 7-5 4-6 6-3 while Raonic claimed a 6-3 5-7 6-2 win over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.
Italy's tenth seed Sara Errani stunned China's world No.2 Li Na 6-3 4-6 6-2 to make the semis for the second consecutive year.
She next meets Serbian sixth seed Jelena Jankovic who upset Poland's third seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-4.
Errani and Jankovic were joined in the last four by Ana Ivanovic, the Serbian 11th seed having to dig deep against Carla Suarez Navarro before finally beating the Spanish 13th seed 6-4 3-6 6-4.
Ivanovic will play Serena Williams who annihilated unseeded Chinese player Zhang Shuai 6-1 6-3.
Share
