Friday 17 October 2014 23:33, UK
Andy Murray took another step towards qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals by beating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open.
Murray is currently 10th in the Race to London standings and needs to climb into the top eight to book his spot at the end-of-year showpiece at the O2 Arena.
The British No 1 sent down 10 aces and won 87 per cent of the points on his first serve as he saw off his German opponent in a little under 90 minutes.
The Scot changed his schedule, opting to play in the tournament for the first time in a bid to secure valuable rankings points following a disappointing defeat to David Ferrer in the third round of the Shanghai Masters last week.
Murray will face Viktor Troicki in the last four, the Serbian qualifier having clinched a 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 victory against Thomaz Belluci.
Troicki was also very strong on his first serve but was forced to fight for a hard-earned victory over the course of 2 hours 27 minutes.
"I've played well against (Troicki) in the past," Murray told the ATP's official website.
"He's a very good athlete, he moves extremely well, and has a big serve. He always makes you work for matches. We have had some tough matches, close matches."
In the top half of the draw, No 1 seed David Ferrer edged past Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to set up a semi-final meeting with Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Fourth seed Kohlschreiber claimed a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) win over Benjamin Becker in an all-German clash.
