( CNN ) -- World No . 2 Rafael Nadal will continue his bid for a first title this year in Friday 's semifinal clash against Andy Murray at the Miami Masters . Nadal , beaten in the final of the Australian Open in late January , is seeking to become the first Spaniard to win the U.S. hard-court event . He was runner-up in Florida last year and 2008 . He booked his place in the last four with a 6-2 5-7 6-4 win over French sixth seed , while world No . 4 Murray came from a set and a break down to beat Serbia 's Janko Tipsarevic 4-6 6-3 6-4 earlier on Wednesday . `` I did n't play very well , '' 10-time grand slam champion Nadal told the ATP Tour website after beating Tsonga at the same stage for a second year in a row . `` I think I started the match playing really well , but later when I had the break in the second set , I started to play more defensive . `` My feeling was Jo was having much more mistakes than usual , so the match did n't have the right rhythm . '' Murray won their last encounter in the Tokyo final last October , but Nadal has a 13-5 career advantage and beat the Brit in three successive grand slam semifinals in 2011 . `` Playing Andy is a pleasure for me , and it 's exciting playing against a player like him who pushes you to the limit on everything , '' said Nadal , who has also reached the semis in Doha and Indian Wells this year . `` The negative thing is I have to recover well . '' Murray looked to be heading for the exit when he received medical attention for a stomach complaint in the second set , but soon turned the match around breaking Tipsarevic 's next service game before going on to clinch the set . `` Today 's match was really important for me to get through after how it was going , '' Murray said . `` I came up with some big serves and served my way out of trouble , which is important . `` They were tough , tough conditions . Because of the wind , I was maybe trying to hit it too close to the line and not building the points as much I needed to . So when I did that , I did a bit better . '' Defending champion Novak Djokovic will play Spanish fifth seed in Thursday 's night match in Key Biscayne , with the winner to face either American eighth seed Mardy Fish or Argentine No . 1 Juan Monaco in the semis .
Former world No . 1 Janko Tipsarevic through to the semifinals of the Miami Masters . Last year 's runner-up will play world No . 4 Andy Murray in Serbia on Friday . Nadal triumphs in 4 sets against French sixth seed Murray . Murray also taken the distance by Serbian ninth seed Murray .