PARIS — Andy Murray reached the Paris Masters semifinals for the first time Friday, but it needed a marathon effort to see off the last remaining Frenchman, Richard Gasquet.
The second seed, who had dropped just four games in reaching the last eight, was kept hard at it for two hours 38 minutes before edging into the semis 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3.
Five-time previously Murray had fallen in the quarterfinals of the ATP's regular season finale and he will now play either John Isner or David Ferrer for a place in Sunday's final.
The first set was a 73-minute cliffhanger.
Murray stormed out of the blocks to lead 3-0, but with his first serve faltering, Gasquet found a way to work his way back into it, leveling at 4-4 after a break to love in the seventh game.
Murray also let slip a 3-1 lead in the tie-break and had to save a set-point at 5-6, but the second seed pushed Gasquet into making errors off his forehand side and he finally edged it 9-7.
It was Gasquet though who looked the stronger and a sloppy game from a frustrated looking Murray gave Gasquet a break to lead 4-2.
That proved to be enough for the Frenchman to win the set as he comfortably held serve twice.
There were worrying signs from Murray minutes later as he grimaced in pain after stretching for a return, but he then erased two break points to hold serve.
Two games later, however, there was to be no reprise from the Scot as Gasquet sealed the break with a superb forehand crosscourt drive off a big first serve.
Murray broke back immediately to level at 2-2, however, and with Gasquet visibly tiring he grabbed the break he needed in the eighth game when the 10th seed netted under pressure.
On Thursday, fourteen-time major winner Rafael Nadal, seeded seventh, saved a match point in a 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2 win against 11th-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa.
On Wednesday night, Anderson finished his second-round, three-set match against Austrian Dominic Thiem at 12:26 a.m. after spending 2 hours, 45 minutes on court.
This time he finished just as the clock struck midnight after 2 hours, 27 minutes on court.
Nadal next faces No. 4 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who beat Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-4, 7-5.
No. 5 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic beat No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-3, 6-4 and will meet Novak Djokovic.
Svitolina makes semis
In China, Elina Svitolina advanced to the semifinals of the WTA Elite Trophy by beating second-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-3 Friday.
The eighth-seeded Ukrainian took control after dropping a marathon 80-minute first set, saving four of seven break points in the second and third sets.
“It was such a crazy match today,” Svitolina said. “I was playing really well out there, and Carla was playing really well as well. It was a marathon match and really tough obviously, but I was really happy with how I played today. This is a big win.”
The tournament brings together 11 of the top players who did not qualify for last week’s WTA Finals in Singapore. The qualifiers compete in a four-group round robin format, with the winners of each group advancing to the semifinals.
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova defeated fourth-seeded Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-0. Vinci already qualified for the semifinals after Caroline Wozniacki retired against Svetlana Kuznetsova Thursday and pulled out of the tournament.
Top-seeded Venus Williams will play against Vinci in Saturday’s semifinals, while third-seeded Karolina Pliskova faces Svitolina.
Seventh-seeded Madison Keys beat Chinese wild-card entry Saisai Zheng 6-3, 6-2. — Agencies
