Murray enters Barcelona Open semis

Barcelona, April 29 (IANS) Andy Murray of Scotland advanced to the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open tennis tournament after defeating Spaniard Albert Ramos-Viñolas in a tough three-set duel that kept both players on the court for three hours.

The world no.1 was made to sweat before beating the 10th seeded Ramos-Viñolas 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the quarter-finals.

Murray thus avenged his defeat a week ago in the last 16 stage of the Monte Carlo Masters, where he was defeated by the Catalan star, reports Efe news agency.

Murray will now face fourth seed Dominic Thiem of Austria for a spot in the final.

Thiem, who is placed ninth in the world rankings, defeated Yuichi Sugita of Japan 6-1, 6-2 his quarter-final match.