Kyle Edmund defeated Dušan Lajović 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to reach the semi-finals of the China Open.
The British no.1 has lacked form in recent months but the straight sets victory has propelled him into his first ATP semi-final for six months.
It was a gruelling 1h 35m contest between the big servers with both players winning over 80% of points on their first serve and rarely affording a break point.
Eventually though the 22-year-old world no.16 capitalised on a rare mistake by the Serbian in the first set and ground out a close fought tie-break to win the second.
Edmund will now face Georgian world no.34 Nikoloz Basilashvili in the semi-final as the Brit encroaches on his first ever ATP title.
However, in the other semi-final fiery Italian Fabio Fognini takes on heavy favourite Juan Martin Del Potro who is playing in his first event since losing to Novak Djokovic in the men’s final of the US Open.
"It's going to be a difficult one," Del Potro said of his opponent. "Fabio beat me in the Mexico final this year. He's playing very well already. He's a smart player also. It's going to be an interesting match to play. Fabio has a lot of chances to win that match, too. I have to play my best, for sure."
