Andy Murray
Andy Murray seals his place in the semi finals of the Aegon Championships.

Andy Murray sealed his place in the semi-finals of the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club on Friday evening with a hard fought 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory over Benjamin Becker.

The World No.2 will now play either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Denis Kudla on Saturday for a place in the final of the last dress rehearsal before Wimbledon commences on June 24.

The Scot strode into an early lead claiming an early break and holding serve in the first set but struggled to operate at his fluid best, aiding the German with some loose serving as the contest progressed.

Despite another good start in the second where he immediately broke the German again, Murray found himself under even more pressure when the player ranked 105 in the world capitalised on a lapse in concentration on Murray's part, at one point leading the second set 4-2, creating a mere suggestion that those in attendance at Queen's Club were in for a slightly longer evening than first thought.

Becker forced the contest into tie-break, before the resilient 26-year-old regained the initiative and stormed into a 6-0 lead. There was still time for one more scare as Murray allowed three match points to pass him by before the German hit the net with a backhand to bring an end to the proceedings.

"He started playing much better in the second set," Murray told BBC Sport. "I just had to hang tough to get the win."

Murray has now racked up three successive wins since returning from the back problem that forced him to miss the French Open, and will be growing increasingly confident as he prepares to challenge for what be his second grand slam on home turf.

Perhaps the biggest shock of the day came when 32-year-old Lleyton Hewitt defeated Argentine third seed Juan Martin del Potro 6-2 2-6 6-2.

"In the back of my mind I knew I could do it," Hewitt said. "If everything fell together I knew I could play well.

"These are the times that I want to be playing my best tennis, going into a Slam in a week or so's time."