Fils, seeded 28, beat the 22nd seed Tommy Paul 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 after two hours and 49 minutes.

In the race to seven points in the final set tiebreaker, Paul breezed into a 6-2 lead.

But Fils reeled off six successive points to claim the tiebreak 8-6 and a place in the last four at one of the nine tournaments considered the most prestigious on theATP tourafter the four Grand Slam events in Melbourne,Paris,London and New York.

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"It was a dog fight and I never back down from a fight,"said Filswho spent six months last year recovering from a back injury.

"Even if I lose, it's OK, I just fought the best that I could. That's the best result I've had in my life so far."

On Friday, the 21-year-old will take on Jiri Lehecka.

The 21st seed from the Czech Republic dispatched the Spaniard Martin Landaluce in straight sets.

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In the women's event in Miami, defending champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka moved into the semis with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Hailey Baptiste from the United States.

Sabalenka took 80 minutes to beat the 24-year-old who was playing in her first quarter-final at a WTA 1000 event.

"She really pushed me," said Sabalenka. "The rhythm, the heaviness of her shots is incredible. I'm super happy that I was able to hold the pressure and to get the win."

Sabalenka will take on third seed Elena Rybakina in the semis after she came fro ma set down to oust Jessica Pegula from the United States 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

"Jessica started playing well, and I was rushing a bit and frustrated," said Rybakina. "But I'm happy that I managed to bounce back and turn it around in the second set."

Originally published on RFI