Murray, Ferrer reach semifinals at Paris Masters

PARIS — Second-seeded Andy Murray overcame strong resistance from Richard Gasquet to reach the semifinals of the Paris Masters for the first time on Friday.

Playing in his sixth quarterfinal at the indoor tournament, Murray managed to break the 10th-seeded Frenchman three times to advance with a 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3 win.

"The level during the first set was extremely good. After that it was a little bit up and down," Murray said. "I just managed to hang in at the end after losing the momentum in the second set."

The two-time Grand Slam champion next faces eighth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain, who beat 13th-seeded American John Isner 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-1 in a topsy-turvy match lasting 2 hours, 26 minutes after failing to serve out the match at 5-3, 40-15 up in the second set.

Later, top-ranked Novak Djokovic faced No. 5 Tomas Berdych and No. 4 Stanislas Wawrinka played No. 7 Rafael Nadal.

Murray, who won his two previous matches in less than one hour, was also made to work hard, spending slightly longer on court than Ferrer.

After recovering from a slow start, Gasquet pleased the crowd with some spectacular one-handed backhands to level at 1-set all. He then broke in the third game of the deciding set but could not hold his next serve.

Murray, who has now achieved his best match record in a single season with a 67-11 mark, made the decisive break in the eighth game then served out the match at love.

Gasquet rued his missed chances in the tiebreak, when he failed to convert a set point after Murray hit a chipped backhand pass down the line.

"He made an incredible shot. There are only three or four players who can do that," Gasquet said.

Murray has now reached the semifinals of all nine Masters tournaments.

Ferrer, who has won five titles this year, seemed to be racing to victory when he broke Isner in the eighth game of the second set. That gave him a chance to serve out the match, but from 40-15 his composure deserted him and Isner forced a tiebreaker.

It was an exciting one, with a huge ace from Isner whizzing just over the head of a spectator and giving him a 5-2 lead.

Ferrer fought back, returning Isner's second serve into his feet for 5-5, then saving a set point with a forehand winner for 6-6.

But Isner unleashed a booming backhand winner down the line for 7-6, then sent down another huge serve which just clipped Ferrer's racket to clinch the set, turning to clench his fist at a small group of fans just behind him.

Having earlier wasted match points, Ferrer was given a warning from the chair umpire at the start of the third set when he yelled out in frustration after missing his fourth break point.

But he easily took Isner's next service game, although by now the American was clearly struggling. At 0-40, Isner hunched over in pain for several moments, and then took a medical timeout for several minutes at the changeover. He had earlier received massage treatment on his right arm after the first game of the first set.

Ferrer held easily for 3-1 and then broke again when Isner hit a big forehand wide.