Andy Murray's bid to reach the ATP World Tour Finals continues today when he takes on David Ferrer in the semi-finals of the Valencia Open.

It will be a third clash in three weeks between the pair, with each man having one win in their October series.

Ferrer ousted Murray in the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters a fortnight ago, but the Scot took revenge by beating the world No 5 to take the Vienna title last Sunday.

The top seed in Valencia, Ferrer sprinted to a 6-1 6-2 quarter-final victory on Friday against Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci.

Murray's chance of playing in the showpiece event at the O2 was significantly enhanced on Friday night when Rafael Nadal announced he would not play in London, deciding to end his season early to undergo appendix surgery.

Nadal had already qualified and his withdrawal opens up another place in the eight-man tournament, with Murray currently eighth in the Race to London standings, one place ahead of Ferrer.

"The match will be an important match, as was last week and also in Shanghai," Murray told the ATP website.

"But even if I don't win the tournament this week, I will still have an opportunity in Paris (at next week's Masters 1000 event) if I play well there."
(Sky Sports)