British number one Andy Murray cruised into the semi-finals of the Brisbane International with a 6-4 7-6 (7/3) win over Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.
Murray served three aces in winning the first set, taking his only break point and saving two on his own serve.
The Scot served two double-faults at 3-4 in the second but kept his nerve to hold and remain on terms in the set. Istomin held after three deuces to lead 6-5 and the set continued to a tie-break with neither player facing a break point.
Istomin led 2-0 after an early point against the serve but Murray hit back to take the breaker 7/3 and set up a clash with Japan's Kei Nishikori, who beat Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov by exactly the same scoreline, 6-4 7-6 (7/3).
The other semi-final will be contested by Grigor Dimitrov and Marcos Baghdatis, who both upset seeded players.
Dimitrov, from Bulgaria, served 17 aces in a 6-3 6-2 win over seventh-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer while Baghdatis, the Cypriot who reached the 2006 Australian Open final, beat French third seed Gilles Simon 6-3 6-4.
