An exemplary performance from Andy Murray saw him advance to the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open after a 7-6 [7-4] 6-3 win over world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas in Friday's quarter-final.
Neither man possessed the formula to break the other's serve in the opening exchanges, with both players hitting brilliantly from the off in a tight first set.
Murray briefly had an opportunity to break Tsitsipas in the seventh game before the world number four responded with a pair of aces, and the Brit was forced to serve to stay in the set.
Tsitsipas stormed into a 40-30 lead at 6-5 but squandered the set point as Murray brought it back to deuce, with the two players ultimately going to a tie-break to decide the first set.
Murray would finally find a way past the Tsitsipas serve to take a 1-0 lead in the match as the Greek's lob landed well beyond the baseline, and the second set started in a similar vein.
However, the three-time major winner was handed a break point following a Tsitsipas double fault and moved 4-2 up courtesy of a stellar backhand, and he held well to move one game away from the final four.
Tsitsipas served to stay in the contest but was no match for an inspired Murray on the day, with the Brit's down-the-line winner sealing a two-set win over the number one seed and setting up a semi-final with Nick Kyrgios.
Ben Knapton
