Top seed David Ferrer held off a dogged fightback from Philipp Kohlschreiber to reach the semi-finals of the Auckland ATP tour event Thursday.
The Spaniard admitted he was affected by nerves on his way to a 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 win over eighth-seeded Kohlschreiber, blowing two match points before defeating the German after two hours 45 minutes.
"It was a tough match... I was a little bit afraid but I served good in the last moments and this was the key," the world number seven said.
Ferrer, the champion here in 2007, appeared headed for an easy victory after cruising through the first set 6-3 but Kohlschreiber blew away the cobwebs to take the second in a tie-break.
The German world number 34 could not maintain his momentum, fending off two match points before netting his forehand on the third to hand Ferrer victory.
Ferrer will meet David Nalbandian in the semi-finals after the sixth seed ousted defending champion John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).
The Argentine veteran employed a serve-and-volley game to counter Isner's booming serve and reaped the reward with a service break in the 11th match of the second set as the towering American's count of unforced errors climbed.
Earlier, Spanish second seed Nicolas Almagro ground out a 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (1/7), 6-2 win over Adrian Mannarino of France.
Seventh seed Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil will play Colombian Santiago Giraldo in the fourth quarter-final later Thursday.
Short link: