Bernard Tomic has been eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Memphis Open by American Donald Young.

Young needed three sets to beat the Australian on Friday 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 7-5.

One of five Americans in the last eight at The Racquet Club, Young struggled with four double-faults in the second set.

He bounced back by saving three of four break points in the third set to advance to the semi-finals in Memphis for the first time.

He will next play No.2 seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa, a 6-4 6-4 winner over sixth-seeded Steve Johnson.

With the win, Young reached the fourth ATP Tour semi-final of his career as he looked for his first tournament title.

“Anytime you make it to the weekend, you are playing well,” Young said. “It hasn’t happened too often in my career so, when it happens, I am very excited.”

Anderson needed only 65 minutes to defeat Johnson. The South African served up 16 aces and won 32 of 36 points on his first serve.

Johnson struggled with three double-faults and missed his chance to break Anderson in the 10th game of the second set.

Kei Nishikori of Japan, the two-time defending champion, beat American qualifier Austin Krajicek 4-6 6-3 6-4 on Friday night to reach the last four.

The world No.5 shook off eight double-faults and struggled with unforced errors off his backhand. But Nishikori improved to 11-1 in Memphis by beating his friend in their first career meeting on tour.

“Obviously, I didn’t play my best tennis, but I still won today,” Nishikori said. “That’s really important, I think. I won’t play every match, my best tennis. I think it’s a very good win today because he was playing good tennis.”

The titleholder will play Sam Querrey in the semi-finals on Saturday night after the American’s 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) victory over third-seeded countryman John Isner.