Venus Williams progressed into the final four of the Abierto Mexicano tournament with a 4-6 6-3 7-5 win over Laura Pios Tio.
A major upset had looked likely when Pios Tio, ranked 399 in the world, led the defending champion 5-1 and was on serve in the deciding third set.
The 25-year-old could not close out the match however, and nerves got the better of her as Williams reeled off the next six games to sneak through to the last four of the clay-court event.
Williams, who won in Dubai last week, will meet another highly-ranked opponent in the semi-finals where Romania's Edina Gallovits, the world 164, awaits after she defeated Sharon Finchman 7-5 6-2.
In the other half of the draw, second seed Agnes Szavay bowed out after a left thigh injury forced her to retire trailing 19-year-old Slovenian Polona Hercog 6-4 1-0.
Hercog, the eighth seed, will now attempt to reach her first WTA Tour final when she meets fifth seed Carla Suarez Navarro.
Suarez Navarro knocked out third seed Gisela Dulko 6-1 7-6 (7/4) to reach the last-four.
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