Despite fighting the flu Rafael Nadal booked his place in the semi final of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open as he saw off tricky opponent Ernests Gulbis.
The Spaniard has been feeling unwell all week and required the doctor on court during the opening set.
It was a promising start from Nadal as an early break saw him open up a 3-1 lead before he let the break and his lead slip away.
Gulbis, who had a famous victory over Roger Federer at the Rome Masters last year, battled back and soon levelled the set at 4-4.
And the Latvian could easily have moved ahead when Nadal found himself 0-40 down on his own serve.
But in true Rafa style he battled back to pull back to deuce before a smash saw him move 5-4 ahead.
Neither player could force another break of serve so a tie break was required to decide the destination of the first set.
And it was Nadal who was out of the blocks the quickest as he opened up a 4-1 lead that Gulbis never recovered from.
Into the second set and a break in the fifth game handed Nadal a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 victory.
Speaking to the BBc after the match Nadal said:
"Every match is really tough," he said. "Gulbis is one of the best players in the world and he has a great opportunity to go up and be in the top 10. He is very dangerous.
"I started really well and the first five games was the best I have played this week. But I went down and he started to play better.
"But after that I played a solid match."
He will now face Nikolay Davydenko, in what will be a re-match of last year's final, as the Russian saw off Ivo Karlovic 6-3 7-5 to reach the semi final.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw