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

The Scottish top seed and 2009 champion will meet in Friday’s final four 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 No. 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 No.4 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.

Third-seeded 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.

“Andreas played very well in the second set. For me it was about trying to play like I had in the first set,” said Berdych. “I was still able to finally win in the end.”

Canadian second seed Milos Raonic and No.4 Stan Wawrinka were bidding to join Murray and Berdych in the quarters.

Raonic was facing Italian Simone Bolelli while Wawrinka was taking on Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, whom he beat last month in Melbourne.

Simon improved to 3-0 over Chardy after beating his compatriot at Roland Garros in 2011 and the Madrid Masters in 2013.

Simon, holder of 11 career titles, finished his modest effort with nine winners and broke Chardy twice in the second set. The winner never faced a break point.

Simon finished off with a backhand pass to set up a match point, then fired a duplicate shot down the line a point later to claim his fifth win of the season.

The two-time semifinalist is competing in Rotterdam for the seventh time and won his 10th match at the event.

Nishikori into Memphis last eight

In Memphis, two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori rallied to get past US qualifier Ryan Harrison on Wednesday to book his quarterfinal spot at the ATP Memphis Open.

The Japanese top seed, who reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January, gained a key early break in the third set and finally secured the 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win on his fourth match point.

“It was a tight game, but I’m really happy to win,” the 25-year-old said. “I think it’s important to win something like this sometimes, it’s good for confidence.”

Nishikori, who enjoyed a first-round bye before opening his title defense against Harrison, said he feels like Memphis is “becoming my tournament.”

“I know it’s not easy to defend titles, but I think mentally I’m ready,” he said.

Nevertheless, Nishikori said he’ll have to play better in the quarter-finals, where he’ll face another American qualifier, Austin Krajicek.

Krajicek, who survived two match points in a first-round win over Mikhail Kukushkin, toppled fifth-seeded Croatian Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-4.

Krajicek withstood a barrage of 32 aces from last year’s runner-up, but served 14 of his own.

Third-seeded American John Isner pounded 22 aces in a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Croatian Ivan Dodig.

Isner next faces compatriot Sam Querrey, who needed only 57 minutes to get past Jared Donaldson 6-4, 6-1.

The second round continues on Thursday, when second-seeded wild card Kevin Anderson of South Africa headlines the action taking on Australian Sam Groth.

Fourth-seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov also faces a challenger from Down Under in Bernard Tomic.

Rodina trumps Nara

In Bangkok, Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina comfortably dispatched Japan’s Kurumi Nara in another surprise upset at Pattaya Thursday to make it through to the third round of the WTA tournament.

Right-handed Rodina, ranked 109 in the world, saw off fourth seed Nara 6-2, 6-4 in a little over an hour at the popular Thai seaside resort.

A day earlier China’s top ranked player Peng Shuai tumbled out of the tournament to Japan’s unfancied Misaki Doi in a three set loss.

China’s Lin Zhu was forced to pull out of her second round match Thursday against compatriot Ying-Ying Duan. At the time Lin had just lost the first set 6-1.

Russia’s Daniela Hantuchova also saw off China’s Saisai Zheng 7-6, 6-2.

The Russians have so far made a strong showing at Pattaya. Rodina and Hantuchova will join fellow Russian and two-time Grand Slam finalist Vera Zvonareva in the third round.

The 30-year-old Zvonareva is on something of a comeback trail, after injury and poor form saw her drop from a top-ten career high in 2010 to a current WTA ranking of 189th in the world, 80 places behind Rodina.