Italy’s Karin Knapp came up with a strong performance to oust Switzerland’s fourth seed Patty Schnyder and enter the semifinals of the Tennis Diamond Games tournament here on Friday.

Knapp won 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(2) after playing nearly two hours of intense tennis.

On Thursday, Swiss Timea Bacsinszky beat Julie Ditty of the USA 7-5, 6-4 to set up a match with Slovak third seed Daniela Hantuchova.

Murray in semis

British number one Andy Murray advanced to the semifinals of the Marseille Open with a 7-5, 7-6 win over Frenchman Nicolas Mahut on Friday, adds Reuters from Marseille.

The first set was tight until Mahut dropped his serve in the last game with a double fault followed by a backhand error.

World number 11 Murray, seeded fourth in the indoor event, spurned two match points in the 10th game of the second set before going through 7-5 on a tiebreak after the unseeded Mahut hit a forehand wide.

The Scot next faces another Frenchman, Paul-Henri Mathieu or holder Gilles Simon, for a place in Sunday's final.

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic made a second-round exit from the Marseille Open when holder Gilles Simon of France knocked him out 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 on Thursday.

Top seed Djokovic, apparently still suffering from the flu symptoms that forced him to retire from a Davis Cup tie against Russia last week, looked a shadow of his self, accumulating unforced errors.

World number 30 Simon, was on top in the decisive set, during which Djokovic had his blood pressure checked by the doctor.

Simon next meets compatriot Paul-Henri Mathieu, who survived 23 aces from fellow Frenchman Michael Llodra to pull off a 7-6, 7-6 win.

Results: Marseille Open: Quarterfinals: Mario Ancic (Cro) bt Robin Soederling (Swe) 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2;  4-Andy Murray (Bri) bt Nicolas Mahut (Fra) 7-5, 7-6(5).

Antwerp Diamond Games: Quarterfinals: Timea Bacsinszky (Sui) bt 3-Daniela Hantuchova (Slo) 6-2, 4-6,  Karin Knapp (Ita) bt 4-Patty Schnyder (Sui) 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(2).