Britain’s Andy Murray remained on course for an Asian hat-trick when he beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4 3-6 6-3 to reach the quarter finals of the Shanghai Masters.
The in-form Scot, who won back-to-back titles in Bangkok and Tokyo, suffered a slight wobble when leading 5-0 in the deciding set before closing out victory.
With several top names already departed in his half of the draw the world number four now looks a hot favourite to retain his title at the Qi Zhong Tennis Centre.
Third seed David Ferrer also moved into the last eight after saving three match points in a 1-6 7-5 6-2 victory over fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero — a victory that also sealed his place in the ATP World Tour finals in London next month.
Only three spots are now left for the eight-man tournament.
Murray marched through the first set against Wawrinka but went off the boil in the second as errors began to flow.
However, he took charge in the decider to forge into a 5-0 lead before the 19th ranked Wawrinka staged a late fightback.
Murray, unbeaten since losing to Rafa Nadal in the U.S. Open semi-finals, ended the contest with a forehand winner.
He will face either Frenchman Gilles Simon or Australia’s Matthew Ebden in the quarter-finals while Ferrer is up against American Andy Roddick after he overcame Nicolas Almagro 6-3 6-4.
World number two and top seed Nadal plays German Florian Mayer later Thursday.
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