Kei Nishikori saved three straight match points in the deciding set before outlasting Kevin Anderson 2-6 6-4 7-6 (8-6) in the Geneva Open quarter-finals.
The second-seeded Nishikori was serving at 4-5, 0-40 before rallying to beat the 62nd-ranked South African, who fired 14 aces without allowing any by his opponent.
Top-seeded Stan Wawrinka also dropped the first set in his Thursday quarter-final, against Sam Querrey of the United States, though ultimately had an easier passage in a 4-6 7-5 6-2 win.
After Nishikori's escape in the 10th game of the third set, he also trailed 4-2 in the tiebreaker. Still, he soon created a second match-point chance with a forehand crosscourt service return for a winner. He clinched with a forehand winner off a looping net-cord ball.
The No. 9-ranked Japanese player will face 33rd-ranked Mischa Zverev of Germany in the semi-finals on Friday.
The Russian-born Zverev, who came through qualifying, beat fifth-seeded American Steve Johnson 6-4 7-5.
Wawrinka's next opponent is the winner of Thursday's late match between unseeded Russian Andrey Kuznetsov and Germany's Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, a lucky loser in qualifying.
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