Tennis: Ferrer beats Tipsarevic in epic to reach Open semis

NEW YORK (AFP) - Spain's David Ferrer rallied in the fifth set to outlast Serbian Janko Tipsarevic and advance to the United States (US) Open semi-finals on Thursday in a marathon battle that lasted four hours and 31 minutes.

Fourth seed Ferrer matched his best Grand Slam showing by reaching the final four on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts with a 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) victory over the eighth seed.

"It was an emotional match, one of the most emotional of my career," Ferrer said. "I'm really happy. It was a really tough match. Janko, he's an amazing player and he really fought a lot. He deserved to win today too."

Ferrer will play on Saturday for a berth in the final against the winner of a later quarter-final between defending champion Novak Djokovic, the Serbian second seed, and Argentine seventh seed Juan Martin Del Potro, the 2009 winner.