Andy Murray was made to work hard for his place in the semi-finals of the Dubai Championships after saving seven match points before battling past Philipp Kohlschreiber.

The world number one took 31 minutes to overcome his opponent in the second set and then pushed on to claim a 6-7(4) 7-6(18) 6-1 victory in the Middle East.

Both men held serve in an opener that set the tone for what was to follow, with Kohlschreiber taking five points on the spin in the tie-break to open up a lead in the match.

Then came the lengthy second set, which provided the longest tie-break on the men's tour since the 2007 Australian Open.

Murray incredibly levelled up the contest with his eighth set point, edging it 20-18, and a more straightforward decider followed for the Scotsman as he held his serve to pave the way for a meeting with either Evgeny Donskoy or Lucas Pouille in the last four.