INDIAN WELLS: Sabine Lisicki was too much for defending champion Flavia Pennetta on Thursday, saving three match points in a three-set win over the Italian to book her Indian Wells semifinal berth.

Pennetta had hoped to repeat her surprise victory of last year, and managed to save one match point before running out of gas in the marathon quarter-final, won 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4) by the 24th seed from Germany.

Former Wimbledon runner-up Lisicki needed two hours and 40 minutes to fashion the victory, which set up a clash with another former champion, Serbian Jelena Jankovic.

“Everything happened tonight,” Pennetta said. “Match point for one, match point for the other one.

“Tennis is like this. I’m happy about the match, but of course I am upset, because when you are there, you want to win it.”

After dropping the first set, Pennetta saved a match point in the 10th game of the second. She went on to take the game three points later to even the set at 5-5.

Lisicki clinched the victory in dramatic fashion with her fifth ace of the match in the third-set tiebreaker. She celebrated by letting go of her racquet and dropping to her knees before going to the net for a long embrace with her equally-exhausted opponent.

Lisicki won 75 percent of her first-serve points and broke Pennetta four times in the first career meeting between the two.

“In matches like this both players played unbelievable points. It was fun to be part of a match like this,” said Lisicki, who owns the WTA record for the fastest serve — a 131 mph (210.82 kph) blast she hit last year in Stanford.

In the men’s section, Andy Murray set a record for Open Era wins by a British man with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Feliciano Lopez to reach the semifinals.

Fourth seed Murray booked a showdown with defending champion Novak Djokovic, who won his match in a walkover when Bernard Tomic withdrew from their scheduled quarterfinal in the WTA and ATP hardcourt tournament.

Murray now has 497 match wins, surpassing Tim Henman for the most in the Open Era by a British player.

The 27-year-old Scot continued his domination over the Spanish lefthander Lopez, having won all 10 career matches between the two.

“His game style I think matches up quite well against mine,” said Murray, now just three wins shy of the 500-win milestone. “I don’t have as much trouble with the lefties.

“I was able to deal with his difficult spins today, but it was tough because he fought right to the end.”

Murray blasted four aces and won over 70 percent of his first and second serve points in the one hour, 32 minute match.

Lopez came into the match leading the tournament in aces with 46 in three matches. But the 12th seeded Spaniard managed just five against Murray on Thursday.

Murray ended his historic 2013 — where he became the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years — when he had back surgery. The rehab took time and he was not the same player in 2014.