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Murray outlasts Pospisil to reach Rotterdam quarters

Andy Murray saved five break points to hold off determined Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday and reach the quarterfinals of the ATP Rotterdam World Tennis event.

The Scottish top seed and 2009 champion will meet in Friday's semifinal eighth seed Gilles Simon after the Frenchman needed just 67 minutes for a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Jeremy Chardy. Murray stands an overwhelming 12-1 in the series with number 19 Simon. Murray battled for one and three-quarter hours against the 59th-ranked Pospisil to defeat the Canadian for a second time.

The second set was filled with momentum shifts, with ATP number four Murray saving a set point which would have taken the contest into a third. Murray finally prevailed with a break of his opponent for 6-5 in the final set, earning the win in the next game when Pospisil's return was ruled wide. “It was a tough match physically and mentally,” said Murray, who lost the Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic less than a fortnight ago.

“Vasek is a good athlete and gets to a lot of balls. Thanks to this slow court, I was able to move him around at the end and control the points. We had some long games and tough points, it was difficult.”

Murray is wary of playing Simon, whom he last beat in Acapulco in 2014. “Gilles is a great mover and retriever. He's got excellent timing, so of course I'm expecting a difficult challenge,” he added.

Holder Tomas Berdych reached the last eight at the Ahoy Stadium with a defeat of Italian Andreas Seppi 6-0, 3-6, 6-3.Berdych swept the opening set before being made to work in the second as Seppi levelled. The Czech finally prevailed thanks to a break midway through the final set, running out the winner on his first match point.
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