Andy Murray has claimed that he is pleased with his performance against Denis Istomin, which booked the Scotsman a place in the Brisbane International semi-finals.

The US Open champion managed to clinch a 6-4 7-6 victory over his Uzbekistan opponent but Murray has admitted that it was tough to handle Istomin's serve.

"For the most part it was pretty good quality. He served well for the majority of the first set, and especially well at the beginning the second," BBC Sport quotes Murray as saying. "I didn't really have that many chances on returns, so I needed to serve well today. That helped."

The world number three will face Japan's Kei Nishikori tomorrow for a spot in the final.