NEW YORK: Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer matched his best Grand Slam showing by advancing to the US Open semi-finals on Thursday, downing Serb eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

Ferrer will play on Saturday for a berth in the final against the winner of a later quarter-final between defending champion Novak Djokovic, the Serbian second seed, and Argentine seventh seed Juan Martin Del Potro, the 2009 winner.

The Spaniard is 5-2 all-time against Del Potro and 5-8 in his career against Djokovic.

British third seed Andy Murray and Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych will meet in the other semi-final.

Ferrer in action during the US Open men's singles match against Tipsarevic. - AFP

This will be the first time since the 2004 French Open that the semi-finals at a Grand Slam will not feature either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, a run of 33 Slams in a row.

In a marathon battle that lasted four hours and 31 minutes, Ferrer rallied from 4-1 down in the final set to force a tie-breaker, then won five of the final six points of the match, the last when Tipsarevic netted a backhand.

"I'm really happy," Ferrer said. "It was a very emotional match. It was a really tough match. Janko, he's an amazing player and he really fought a lot. He deserved to win today too."

Ferrer improved to 17-9 in career five-set matches while Tipsarevic fell to 15-8.

"It was a lottery in the fifth set," Ferrer said. "I had a break down but I was fighting also and I won. I had to fight a lot and be focused every point."

Ferrer, whose five tour titles this year are second only to six by Federer, matched his best Grand Slam result runs to the last four of the 2007 US Open, 2011 Australian Open and 2012 French Open.

In the fifth set, Tipsarevic broke Ferrer's first service with a backhand volley winner for a 2-0 lead on the way to a 4-1 edge.

But the Serb slipped and fell on his left side going for a Ferrer backhand in the sixth game, which Ferrer held to pull within 4-2.

Ferrer, held, broke back in the seventh game, held again to pull even at 4-4 and earned two break points in the ninth game before Tipsarevic called for a trainer, having his right upper leg taped after reaching toward his right groin during a rally.

The Serb responded with a forehand volley winner and three service winners to hold and each man held into the final tie-breaker. - AFP

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