Britain's Andy Murray reached the Surbiton semi-finals without dropping a set as his Wimbledon preparations stayed firmly on track.
The Scot, 35, triumphed 6-4 7-6 (7-1) against American Brandon Nakashima in windy conditions on Friday.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray is the top seed, playing at the Challenger Tour grass-court event for the first time since he was 17.
He faces American seventh seed Denis Kudla for a place in Sunday's final.
Murray was under early pressure from Nakashima, having to save two break points in his opening service game but then got the key break in the seventh game before serving out the set.
The second set went with serve, with neither player facing a break point, taking it to a tie-break which Murray took immediate control of to keep a first singles title on grass in six years within reach.
"The conditions were tricky, it was a bit blustery," Murray said.
"And there was some old-school grass-court tennis out here. I enjoy it here, but it is different to Wimbledon and Queen's, in terms of the way the court plays.
"It's a lot quicker here and there's not many opportunities to break serve. I had to stay strong at the end of the second set."
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