Novak Djokovic has survived a test against David Ferrer by securing a 7-5 4-6 6-3 victory in their final-eight clash to reach the semi-finals of the Italian Open.
The Serbian pro came close to suffering an early wobble in the first set as he was pushed to deuce by Ferrer in his opening game.
However, the former world number one managed to hold, and games continued by the way of serve until Djokovic grabbed the first break point of the contest to take a 4-2 lead.
Djokovic's Spanish opponent came close to breaking back, and after relinquishing two break points, Ferrer was eventually able to secure a break of his own, but his competitor responded by winning the set with a break of serve.
After going a set down, Ferrer was pushed to the limit in his first service game of the second set, but he managed to save three break points to keep games going by the way of serve.
He later drew first blood by grabbing a crucial break of his own to put all the pressure on Djokovic to bounce back, but the Serbian failed to do so as Ferrer drew level on sets.
It was a tense affair in the third set as both came close to breaking serve, but it was Djokovic who finally found the breakthrough to take a 3-1 lead.
However, Ferrer immediately responded with a break of his own, but it wasn't enough to take him to victory as Djokovic broke back at a crucial stage to serve out the match.
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