World No.7 and sixth seed here Tomas Berdych outshone the third seed Andy Murray in three pulsating sets 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3 in 2 hours 48 minutes to reach the semi-final of the Monte-Carlo masters. Berdych was at his best when he beat the World No.4.

After 1 hour and 15 minutes of play, Murray clinched the first set. Berdych had 7 break-point opportunities and 4 set points, but he failed to convert those and also remained unlucky as uneven bounce forced him to lose a few crucial points in the tie-breaker. Murray kept it simple and committed only 8 unforced errors, as compared to Berdych's 16.

A rejuvenated Berdych came out and started smacking the balls from nowhere to take the match into a decider. Berdych took complete control of the set right from the word go as he broke the Murray serve twice to and hit 12 winners to win this set in 39 minutes. Berdych won a great 93% of first serve points in this set and also won 66% of the net points.

The final set started on an interesting note, with three service breaks. But it was Berdych who kept the tempo and won the set and the match in emphatic fashion. Murray lost his cool on a number of occasions as his emotions got the better of him as he gave up too soon.

Berdych awaits the winner of the match between Novak Djokovic and Robin Haase.