Melbourne, Jan 23 : World number one Novak Djokovic, number three Andy Murray and fourth seed David Ferrer have all booked their spots in the Australian Open semifinal.

Djokovic took it literally after his 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win on Tuesday night over fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych, advancing to the semifinals at an 11th consecutive Grand Slam tournament.

Meanwhile, Murray played his best tennis of the tournament so far to win 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy and claim a place in Friday's semi-final against the winner of Wednesday's concluding quarterfinal clash between Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

However, it wasn't a smooth sailing for Ferrer, as the Spaniard survived a quarterfinal battle with fellow countryman Nicolas Almagro, who had three chances to serve for the match, but was broken every time.

Ferrer has never lost to Almagro in 12 previous meetings and, as the No. 1 Spaniard in the draw in the absence of 11-time major winner Rafael Nadal, felt a responsibility to reach the semis.

An exhausted Ferrer described his 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-2 comeback win as a miracle after the match. (ANI)