SHANGHAI: World number one Novak Djokovic reached his 13th consecutive ATP Tour final with a 6-1, 6-3 win over a misfiring Andy Murray at the Shanghai Masters on Saturday, one of his most lopsided victories ever over his rival.

The Serbian will take on Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final on Sunday after the 16th seed recorded a 6-4, 0-6, 7-5 win over Rafa Nadal, his first in almost four years against the Spaniard.

Djokovic’s blockbuster semi-final with second-ranked Murray was hotly anticipated but the result was anti-climactic after Tsonga’s thrilling upset of Nadal.

The 30-year-old Frenchman was delighted with his scintillating display featuring 40 winners, mainly from a fearsome forehand, but will have to find yet another gear if he is to upset Djokovic on Sunday.

The 10-time Grand Slam champion is aiming for his third Shanghai title on the back of securing his sixth China Open crown last week when he dismantled Nadal in the Beijing final.

Djokovic broke Murray five times in the match and committed just seven unforced errors to 30 for the Scot. He has now won nine of his last 10 matches against Murray over the past two years.

Djokovic will be aiming for his ninth title this season with the Serb having reached the final in every tournament he has played since the Qatar Open in January when he lost to Ivo Karlovic in the quarter-finals.

“I felt great from the first point. I was playing with very high intensity, especially on serve,” Djokovic said in a courtside interview.

Tsonga fired down 11 aces to record his first win over Nadal since the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals and move up to ninth in his bid to qualify again for the eight man end-of-season championships in London.

“I will play against a very good player. I know it’s going to be difficult. But it’s for me an opportunity to hold a new trophy anyway because I’m in final,” Tsonga said.

“It’s one match. If I win it, I’m the champion this week. I’ll take that like an opportunity, so I will give everything”. —Agencies

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2015

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