Andy Murray reached his first ATP Tour final for eight months courtesy of another pulsating three-set win over the Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka in the Qatar Open.
Once again displaying his unparalleled fighting spirit, the former world number one saved five match points en route to a 6-0 3-6 7-6[6] victory, and he will meet either Daniil Medvedev or Felix Auger-Aliassime for a shot at glory.
Despite playing a trio of three-setters with Lorenzo Sonego, Alexander Zverev and Alexandre Muller earlier in the week, Murray remarkably stormed to a first-set bagel in just 32 minutes.
Having broken Lehecka's serve in the opening game, Murray ceded three break points in the second with a double fault, but he managed to save all three of them to hold for a 2-0 lead.
Winning a paltry 37% of points in his first serve during the opening set, an out-of-sorts Lehecka was broken twice more to cede the opening set with a whimper, as a succession of Murray winners closed out the opener.
However, the Czech starlet came roaring back at the start of the second, clinching two love holds either side of a timely break to establish a 3-0 advantage before Murray got on the board.
The Briton threatened to break back in the seventh game, but Lehecka beat away two more break points to hold for 5-2 and move one game away from forcing a third, doing so with a hold to 30.
© Reuters
Lehecka drew first blood in the third set with a break in game three, but in a tale as old as time, Murray broke back straight away before Lehecka immediately restored his one-game advantage with a second break.
Murray saved his two first match points on serve to hold for 4-5, and the writing was seemingly on the wall for the Brit when Lehecka went 40-0 up in game 10, but the 35-year-old astonishingly broke back for 5-5 and forced a tie-breaker.
Unforced errors from Lehecka proved fatal in the deciding tie-breaker, where Murray missed one match point before bringing up a second with an ace, and one final error from Lehecka on serve confirmed Murray's spot in the showpiece event in just under two-and-a-half hours.
Later on Friday, Cameron Norrie advanced to the semi-finals of the Rio Open courtesy of a three-set win over Bolivia's Hugo Dellien, prevailing 4-6 6-1 6-4 in one hour and 55 minutes.
Dellien broke Norrie in the third game of the first set and posted a series of comfortable holds en route to a 1-0 lead in the match, but he could not keep up the intensity for long as Norrie roared into a 4-0 lead in the second set.
Dellien broke back in the fifth game thanks to some double faults from Norrie, but the British number one won the next two games to take the quarter-final all the way, and he would earn the crucial third-set break in the fifth game.
Despite posting no fewer than three double faults in the 10th game - while also saving a break-back point - Norrie came through an uncomfortable hold to set up a semi-final meeting with Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
Ben Knapton
