The top four seeds sailed into the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters, with Roger Federer setting up a mouth-watering last-four clash against Andy Murray.
Tomas Berdych will meet Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final, after both players eased past their quarterfinals opponents.
Murray was in danger of making an early exit in Shanghai, in a tournament he has won two times in a row, after losing the first set to Czech veteran Radek Stepanek. However, the U.S. Open champion found his bearings in the next two sets to pull off a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win.
"I felt okay in the first set," Murray told reporters. "Didn't really say too much. "It was quite a scrappy first couple of sets.
"Obviously the second set I managed to get a break, got a bit of momentum.
"For me, the beginning of the third set was what was most frustrating. I got a hold the first game, then was up Love-40 on his serve, had broken him the last two service games. I played a couple of really poor shots I would hopefully not normally make on points like that.
"He got that game. Then I got broken the following game after a couple long rallies. He had some unbelievable gets. That period of the match was tough.
"Then I just managed to turn it around in time. I played actually very well I thought the last 10, 15 minutes of the match. But it was quite scrappy, the first couple of sets."
Murray will take on Federer, after the world number one defeated Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-3, 6-4, despite the Swiss great being far from his best.
Federer said he was looking forward to the match against Murray. "It's always great playing the best players," he said. "Those are the kind of matches you want to try to win because that can obviously then move the rankings by a little bit, even though it doesn't matter so much if you stay within the top four.
"But basically at this point it's trying to give yourself a chance to win the title here. To come all this way to Shanghai, I'm looking forward to it, it's going to be a tough match, good one."
Djokovic, who beat Tommy Haas 6-3, 6-3, will face a tricky encounter against the dangerous Berdych. The Czech Republic fourth seed got the better of the flamboyant Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6 (4).
"it's always a big challenge when you're playing a top 10 player, especially when somebody who is an established one," Djokovic said of the upcoming semi-final. "Tomas has been winning against top players on different surfaces in the last couple of years, so he knows how to play on a big stage and he knows how to play in big moments.
"He played an upset in the US Open, played a tough one against Roger, and Andy in semis. Big game, big serve, big forehand.
"As I said, it's going to be difficult. It's going to be tough. But I've been playing well, too. So I'll try to look for my chances tomorrow from the baseline and see how it goes."
