Andy Murray edged closer to taking the world no. 2 spot from Roger Federer as he reached the semi-finals of the Miami Masters in Florida.
Victory in this week's Key Biscayne tournament will lift the British U.S. Open champion above the Swiss 17-time grand slam winner in the 2013 global rankings.
Murray reached the last four with a 6-4 6-3 win over Croatian Marin Cilic that was fought out in hot conditions.
"I thought it was a pretty good match," said Murray -- who won the Miami title in 2009 but lost last season's final to world no. 1 Novak Djokovic -- on court after the match.
"Every time I was broken, I broke back straight away. I hit the ball well and used good variation. It was hot today, there were some long points. It was a tough match and I'm glad I came through it in the end in two sets."
Murray, who began his professional career in 2003 ranked no. 779 in the world, last held the no.2 spot for three weeks in 2009.
World ranking is important as it helps decide a player's seeding and their place in the draw for the second grand slam of the year, the French Open which begins on 26 May.Andy Murray edged closer to taking the world no. 2 spot from Roger Federer as he reached the semi-finals of the Miami Masters in Florida.
Victory in this week's Key Biscayne tournament will lift the British U.S. Open champion above the Swiss 17-time grand slam winner in the 2013 global rankings.
Murray reached the last four with a 6-4 6-3 win over Croatian Marin Cilic that was fought out in hot conditions.
"I thought it was a pretty good match," said Murray -- who won the Miami title in 2009 but lost last season's final to world no. 1 Novak Djokovic -- on court after the match.
"Every time I was broken, I broke back straight away. I hit the ball well and used good variation. It was hot today, there were some long points. It was a tough match and I'm glad I came through it in the end in two sets."
Murray, who began his professional career in 2003 ranked no. 779 in the world, last held the no.2 spot for three weeks in 2009.
World ranking is important as it helps decide a player's seeding and their place in the draw for the second grand slam of the year, the French Open which begins on 26 May.The effort to win two back-to-back hard-court tournaments is huge but Sharapova proved against Jankovic that she can raise her game when it counts.
"I thought I needed to step it up a lot from my last match," the 25-year-old, who battled into the semi-finals with a narrow win over Italian Sara Errani, told reporters.
"I had a very tough opponent and I had to play much better. I was very happy at the way I was able to focus.
"Winning a title whether it is here or Indian Wells is a great achievement on its own but [both] would be nice."
There is still one hurdle to face, however. The four time grand slam champion has been in the Florida final four times, losing on each occasion.
This time she will face either U.S. world No. 1 Serena Williams or Polish defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska for the coveted crown.
Radwanska ended Sharapova's Miami hopes last season while the Russian has also lost to Victoria Azarenka (2011), Svetlana Kuznetsova (2006) and Clijsters (2005).
