Andy Murray one win away from No 1 after Berdych battle
The Scot saved five set points in a tie-breaker against the big-serving Czech and eventually prevailed 7-6, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals in Paris.
Andy Murray came through a bruising encounter with Tomas Berdych in Paris on Friday night, beating the Czech 7-6, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals and place himself within one victory of claiming the world number one from Novak Djokovic after the Serb lost to Marin Cilic earlier in the day.
Murray closes in on Djokovic's number one ranking
Murray will face Milos Raonic in the last four and if he goes through to the final he will bring to an end the Serb's 122-week reign as number one that stretches back to July 2014.
Five set points saved
Murray came through a thrilling encounter with seventh seed Berdych, saving five set points after going 6-1 down in a captivating 16-minute tiebreak that he eventually took 11-9 with a forehand crosscourt winner.
Berdych, realising he had missed a golden opportunity, had his serve broken in the opening game of the second set.
The Czech broke back when his opponent served for the match at 5-4 but Murray responded by breaking again before he completed victory with a venomous ace down the middle.