Stan Wawrinka battled into the BNP Paribas Open semifinals with a hard-fought win over Dominic Thiem on Thursday.
The Swiss third seed survived yet another test at Indian Wells, edging Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2).
It marked a second consecutive round in which Wawrinka has been pushed to a third-set tie-break, having overcome Yoshihito Nishioka in the last 16.
Thiem, the World No. 9, had his chances in the third set, but also had to come from a break down to force a tie-break.
Wawrinka won five straight points from 2-2 in the tie-break, having been denied by the Austrian in the 12th game.
It marked a third straight win for Wawrinka over Thiem, who had claimed victory in their first meeting.
CARRENO BUSTA CONTINUES RUN
Wawrinka's semifinal opponent is Pablo Carreno Busta, who battled to a 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7-4) win over Pablo Cuevas.
The Spaniard saved two match points to advance to a maiden ATP 1000 semifinal.
Wawrinka has won both of his previous matches against Carreno Busta, although they were on clay.
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