Murray, Djokovic in semis at ExxonMobil Open

Doha: The worlds top two tennis players, Britains Andy Murray and Serbias Novak Djokovic, have advanced to the semi-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. Murray, the World No.1, beat Spains Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7-4), 7-5. Djokovic, the defending champion, took out the Czech Republics Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 here on Thursday. The 29-year-old Murray, who won the title in Doha in 2008 and 2009, will play Czech Tomas Berdych, the No.3 seed, in the semi-finals. Berdych beat Frances Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the No.5 seed and 2012 Qatar ExxonMobil Open champion, 7-5, 6-3. Djokovic, who fell out of the top spot in the rankings in November, seemed pleased with his play after the match. "I thought in terms of my performance, under the circumstances, I put the level up again, which is great. So everything is going in the right direction," the 29-year-old Djokovic said. The Serbian star, who has won 12 Grand Slam titles, will play Spains Fernando Verdasco in the semi-finals. Verdasco beat big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic, the No. 6 seed, 6-2, 7-5. "Hes a very complete player," Djokovic said, referring to Verdasco. "Hes got weapons from the forehand side, big serve (and hes) very strong."-Agency