NEW YORK — David Ferrer needed a mid-match pedicure of sorts. He seemed bothered when his opponent got a mid-game medical timeout. He was down a break in the fifth set.

In the end, though, the indefatigable Spaniard was barely better, as he usually is when matches go the distance.

With his high-energy brand of leg-churning, ball-chasing tennis, the fourth-seeded Ferrer outlasted eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-3, 6-7 (5), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) in 4 hours, 31 minutes Thursday to reach the US Open semifinals for the second time.

Ferrer trailed 4-1 in the last set, but in the next game, Tipsarevic slammed to the ground while chasing a drop shot and stayed down for a few moments. Tipsarevic later had his right thigh taped up.

Ferrer, also a semifinalist at Flushing Meadows in 2007, has won four consecutive five-setters and is 17-9 overall.

When the match ended on Tipsarevic’s backhand into the net, Ferrer raised his arms, then knelt near the baseline. The weary foes met at the net for a hug.

‘‘I don’t have words,’’ said Ferrer, who reached the semifinals at the French Open in June. ‘‘It was a very emotional match.’’

‘‘It was a really, really tough match,’’ Ferrer said. ‘‘Janko — he’s an amazing player ... and he also deserves to win today.’’

In doubles action, Bob and Mike Bryan will play for a fourth US Open title.

The American twins beat Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals Thursday.

The second-seeded Bryans, who have won 11 Grand Slam championships, will face fifth-seeded Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek in Friday’s final. Paes and Stepanek advanced when the Spanish team of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez retired in the first set.

Lopez has a calf injury that he'll get examined back in Spain. He and Granollers are supposed to play doubles in the Davis Cup semifinal against the United States next week.

Italy’s Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci easily won their doubles semifinal match a day after facing each other in a singles quarterfinal.

The second-seeded French Open champs beat Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain 6-3, 6-2.

Errani and Vinci will face third-seeded Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in Sunday’s final. That pair, from the Czech Republic, defeated Hsieh Su-wei and Anabel Medina Garrigues, 7-6 (2), 6-4.

In singles, Errani defeated Vinci 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday to become the first Italian woman to reach a semi at this tournament since the Open era began in 1968.