Andy Murray fought back from a set down to beat Jason Kubler and reach the semi-finals of the Lexus Surbiton Trophy, while Katie Boulter confirmed her place as British No 1.
The 36-year-old, the last remaining British man in the singles, scraped past the Australian 3-6 6-3 6-4 as he continued his preparations for Wimbledon next month.
Murray, who is ranked 43 in the world and needs to climb 11 spots in order to be seeded at his home tournament, will now face another Australian, Jordan Thompson, for a place in Sunday’s final.
“It has been a good run so far and hopefully I can go a bit further than last year,” said the Scot.
Both Murray and Kubler battled at a high intensity despite the heat and the 30-year-old’s fast serve paid dividends as he took an early 3-2 lead which left the three-time grand slam winner frustrated as he failed to find any rhythm.
Kubler replicated Wednesday’s first-set dominance over Britain’s Ryan Peniston as Murray struggled to deal with his opponent’s shot selection and the Scot was made to scramble across the turf before losing the opening set 6-3.
The former world No 1 appeared rejuvenated by the home support, though, and it finally felt like he was beginning to find his feet after taking a 2-1 lead in the second set, only to be pegged back to 2-2.
