Novak Djokovic produced an imperious performance as he cruised to a 6-1 6-3 victory over Andy Murray to reach the final of the Shanghai Masters.
Murray was brushed aside in a one-sided contest as the 28-year-old Serb reached his 13th consecutive ATP Tour final.
“Obviously I’m disappointed with the way I played. I served poorly in the first set especially,” Murray said.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Rafael Nadal 6-4 0-6 7-5 in the other semi-final to book his place in Sunday’s final.
Murray, 28, had looked confident in his quarter-final victory over Tomas Berdych, but found Djokovic in irresistible form.
Djokovic broke Murray five times in the match and committed just seven unforced errors to 30 for his opponent.
“You can’t afford to do that against Novak with the way he’s playing just now with the amount of confidence he has in his game, and the conditions over here,” Murray added.
Dkojovic has now won nine of his last 10 matches against Murray over the past two years.
“Whenever we play against each other, it’s always exciting. It’s always a huge challenge,” Djokovic said.
“But I was ready. I came in from the very first point with the right intensity, played great, on a very high level.”
Match stats
| Djokovic | Murray | |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 5 | 2 |
| Double faults | 0 | 6 |
| First serve (%) | 74 | 46 |
| First serve points won | 23 | 13 |
| Second serve points won | 6 | 7 |
| Break points faced | 2 | 8 |
| Break points saved | 50% | 38% |
| Break points opportunities | 8 | 2 |
| Break points converted | 5 | 1 |
In the earlier semi-final, Tsonga found life a little more difficult against Nadal.
Frenchman Tsonga, 30, broke Nadal’s service in the fifth game at the third time of asking and then served out to clinch the first set.
Tsonga’s game crumbled in the second set as the 29-year-old Spaniard fought back to win it to love.
Despite the momentum being with his opponent, Tsonga, seeded 16th, regained his composure and broke Nadal’s serve in the 11th game of a thrilling third set.
He then produced an eye-catching dive to force match point, which he converted to reach his first Masters final since he triumphed in Toronto last year.
