TENNIS in DEPTH.

Top seed Andy Murray battled against his serve as well as Alejandro Falla, but claimed a 7-6 (7/3) 6-1 win to reach the semi-finals of the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles.

Murray’s first-serve percentage was just 42% for the match and an incredible 38% for the second set, but he met an opponent who struggled as much as he did.

And after battling through a tough opening set, the second, despite his service struggles, was far simpler as Murray, without a coach after he split with Miles Maclagan this week, sealed a last-four clash with Feliciano Lopez.

Lopez, who has lost to Murray in their last two meetings, said of his opponent: “Since the first time I saw him, I realised he was a very talented player and would be one of the best players in the world.”

Meanwhile fourth seed Lopez ended American James Blake’s run with a 3-6 7-6 (8/6) 6-4 win.

Second seed Sam Querrey came through testing quarter-final against Rainer Schuettler with a 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7/4) win, despite the veteran German twice serving for the match.

After going a set down, Schuettler battled back to claim the second, then broke to go 5-4 up in the third.

Querrey levelled, but again surrendered on serve, before breaking back for a second time to send the match into a tie-break, which he won.

“I was pretty frustrated the whole time, but I did a great job of playing the 5-4 and 6-5 games,” Querrey told www.atptour.com. “I played great points on those games and really battled back well.”

Waiting for Querrey in the semis is sixth-seeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.

The had a relatively easy time against Marcos Baghdatis, coming through 6-3 7-5 against the third seed.

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