Top seed Rafael Nadal needed a recovery effort to overcome inspired German Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Friday, with the Spanish top seed moving through to a weekend semi-final with Andy Murray at the Toronto Masters, dpa reported.
Nadal dropped the first set against Kohlschreiber, who only days ago spent a training week with Roger Federer. But while some of the Swiss magic may have rubbed off on the number 37 from Altstaetten, not all of it was apparent in the two-hour match.
Nadal levelled by taking the second and breaking in the seventh game of the third on his way to his seventh win without a loss against Kohlschreiber.
Defending champion Murray posted an overwhelming 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Argentine David Nalbandian, ending an 11-match win streak for the surging South American.
Murray, who led the ATP on six titles in 2009, is still seeking his first with 2010 more than halfway gone. He has missed opportunities in finals at the Australian Open and Los Angeles.
"I was expecting it to be a very tough match, and it wasn't," said the Scot. "But you're not thinking about how easy the scoreline is or not, because he has been, over the last few years, one of the best at coming back from tough situations.
"It was one of the best matches I've played this year. I played very well in Australia (Federer final), and then for a few months after that I didn't play particularly well.
"It definitely gives me confidence for the rest of the tournament, and the rest of the US stretch."
Former number three Nalbandian, who cut his ranking from 117 to 45th through his Washington success, only returned to tennis less than a fortnight ago and had been unstoppable until running up against Murray.
Murray won the title in Montreal in 2009. All of the top four seeds reached the Toronto quarter-finals, with the quartet - Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic complete the lineup - all former winners of the Canadian event.
Federer was playing a Wimbledon rematch against Tomas Berdych, while second seed Djokovic was facing Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.