Djokovic-Murray Semis Showdown Set for Shanghai

The frustrated Nadal then misread a backhand to give Tsonga the win, as the Spaniard narrowly failed to reach his second final in seven days after last week’s runner-up finish in Beijing.

At times in yesterday’s quarter-final, Berdych threw his hands to the heavens as yet another thunderbolt from Murray’s racket left him groping at thin air as he lost 6-1, 6-3. “I didn’t play any semifinals on hard court this year, now I am playing (them) two weeks in a row”, he said. “I think I played a very, very good second set”. “You just go. You don’t think about anything at this moment”, Tsonga, 30, said of his dive in the final game. Djokovic is the best returner and defender in the game and he will take every advantage that Tsonga gives to him.

“It wasn’t like I was going out there and getting blown off the court”, Murray said of his recent losses to Djokovic. I just couldn’t get myself in it. Just didn’t serve well at all.

Djokovic will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday’s final after the Frenchman defeated Rafael Nadal 6-4 0-6 7-5 in the other semi-final.

And from there, the world number one put his stranglehold on the match.

Nadal came out firing in the second set with three breaks of serve, and the 29-year-old would soon level the match at one set apiece. “Generally, most of the work that is done is done before I start a tournament”.

The Spaniard had displayed a few of his best tennis of the season this week-beating top-10 players Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka-but played tentatively at the start against Tsonga, fending off four break points in the first set before the Frenchman finally converted on his fifth. “When it happens, I’m really happy to have worked hard because I know I can count on my body”.

(CNN)Novak Djokovic confirmed the considerable gulf that now exists between himself and the rest in men’s tennis by routing World No. 2 Andy Murray in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters Saturday.

“I’m very satisfied. To come back at your best level, it’s always a long process. The feelings are that I am getting better and better”.

Four set points were saved as Tsonga held for the first time but the set was wrapped up inside a 30-minute avalanche.

Swiss Wawrinka, who had won his last two meetings against Nadal, avoided the ignominy of suffering a bagel in the second set by claiming the sixth game after his opponent had raced to 5-0 on the back of a nine-game winning run.