Murray battles into last four

Tennis : Andy Murray put his body on the line to secure an epic quarter-final victory over Germany's Tommy Haas at the Pacific…

Tennis: Andy Murray put his body on the line to secure an epic quarter-final victory over Germany's Tommy Haas at the Pacific Life Open as he bears down on the world top 10.

The British number one defied the pain of ankle and hip injuries to produce a brilliant fightback to reach the semi-finals of this Masters Series event in Indian Wells in thrilling style.

The 19-year-old appeared in agony after falling badly in the second set but got up to beat the in-form ninth seed 3-6 6-3 7-6 (10/8) after almost three hours of gripping tennis.

Neither player had seemed willing to give an inch, with Murray needing to survive two match-points in the final-set tie-break before eventually converting to win on his second.

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Murray had problems with a minor cut to his right foot and was bandaged up between sets but that soon proved the least of his worries.

He responded brilliantly to losing the first set by breaking Haas for the first time in the tournament but then twisted his ankle and went down awkwardly stretching to return.

Although he was hampered, Murray went on to win four of the next seven games to force the decisive third set. The decider was a tight affair with both men determined to make life difficult for each other.

Murray edged ahead when he broke from a marathon third game that went to five deuces with a superb forehand, but Haas replied with a break of his own to level at 4-4.

Haas then managed to hold in an epic ninth game and the match, after a delay while the German received treatment, headed into a sudden-death tie-break.

The drama seemed unrelenting as both players traded mini-breaks but ultimately Murray just did enough to prevail.