LONDON (AP) Andy Murray continued the defense of his title at Queen's Club on Friday, reaching the semifinals with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory against Kyle Edmund in an all-British match.
Top-seeded Murray struggled to gain the upper hand against his Davis Cup teammate, wasting an early break in the first set before breaking again to lead 4-3.
The 21-year-old Edmund took a 3-1 lead in the second set, and although Murray immediately broke back he fell heavily in the next game and dropped his serve.
Murray failed to capitalize on three break points as 85th-ranked Edmund served for the set, but then took charge in the final set by winning the first five games.
''Kyle was hitting the ball big throughout the match,'' said Murray. ''At the end of that second set when he went up he was going for it, kept good intensity there. He has a big game. I have obviously trained with him. I know when he has time, how well he can hit the ball, so, you know, I expected that.''
Four-time champion Murray will next face 2012 winner and fifth-seeded Marin Cilic after the Croat edged American Steve Johnson 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4.
Neither player earned a break point in the opening set, and the match remained close after Johnson claimed the tiebreaker. Just one break of serve decided the second set, and in the third Cilic needed to fight off three break points to hold for 1-1 before snatching a decisive break at 4-4.
''Very tough,'' said Cilic. ''He was giving me a lot of trouble with his serve.''
The other semifinal will be between Canadian third seed Milos Raonic and unseeded Australian Bernard Tomic.
Raonic defeated sixth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-4, dominating the first set before edging the second with a single break of serve. Bautista Agut earned his only break point of the match as Raonic served for victory but failed to make an effective return.
Tomic had to wait until the final set before taking charge against Luxembourg's Gilles Muller to win 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2.
Tomic needed six set points to claim the opening set and was then broken at 5-4 in the second with the only break point of the second set.
