( CNN ) -- Fernando Verdasco ended Novak Djokovic 's hopes of winning the Rome Masters after an epic three-hour victory took the Spaniard into the last four . Verdasco eventually beat the world number two from Serbia 7-6 3-6 6-4 in three hours 18 minutes to seal a semifinal berth and record his 12th win in 13 matches . He will now face either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or David Ferrer in the semifinals - his third in as many weeks . Verdasco lost in the final to Rafael Nadal in Monte-Carlo two weeks ago before winning the Barcelona Open last week . Verdasco twice went up a break in a hard-fought opener but both times Djokovic pegged him back , once when he was serving for the set . The tie-break went 7-4 in the world number nine 's favor . Djokovic hit back in the second set , giving Verdasco the runaround and breaking three times on his way to a 6-3 success . But in the decider Verdasco broke Djokovic 's serve in the third game and held on through some long and dramatic rallies to claim it 6-4 .
Fernando Verdasco beats Novak Djokovic 7-6 3-6 6-4 in Rome Masters quarterfinal . Three-set epic takes three hours and 18 minutes . TL;DR Rafael Nadal wins the first two sets of his match against Roger Federer at Roland Garros to advance into Sunday's semifinals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.