Novak Djokovic, the two-time champion, thumped Spain's David Ferrer 6-4, 6-2 yesterday to march into the last four of the Shanghai Masters, where he will meet third-seed Roger Federer in the semi-finals.
Ferrer had beaten Andy Murray in the previous round but the Spaniard was unable to widen the gap between the pair in the ATP Race to London.
Djokovic was able to put clear daylight between himself and Ferrer on court yesterday, though, and hit 26 winners against the Spaniard's 11 to stretch his winning streak in China to 29 matches. The world No.1 won the China Open just last week.
The Serb took control early on by breaking Ferrer's serve in the second game and then saved two break points at 5-4 to serve out the first set. Ferrer, fifth in the world rankings, did not have another opportunity to break the top seed's serve and was broken twice in the second set as he lost his seventh consecutive meeting against Djokovic.
"Roger is one of the best players ever in the game," said Djokovic ahead of his meeting with the Swiss. "There is no clear favourite. I think every time we play against each other, it's a thriller.
"It's really a big challenge for both of us. We need to bring our 'A' game in order to win."
Federer was unnerved initially by Julien Benneteau in his quarter-final, with the Frenchman able to match his opponent shot for shot during the early exchanges. However, the 17-time grand slam winner found a new level to win 7-6(4), 6-0. Federer converted three out of four break point opportunities in the second set to eventually canter to victory.
The Swiss, who served 11 aces, won 91 percent of his first serve points and smashed 34 winners, double the number managed by the Frenchman during their match.
His compatriot Gilles Simon fared better in his tie, moving into the semi-finals after ousting sixth seed Tomas Berdych in three sets. The Czech is now sweating about claiming a place at the ATP World Tour finals.
Simon, ranked 29th in the world, earned a 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-0 win after a two-and-a-half hour slugfest to set up a last four meeting with Feliciano Lopez of Spain. The tall left-handed player had knocked out compatriot Rafa Nadal in the second round of the competition, but the former world No.1 has refused to succumb to the effects of appendicitis. Instead he is taking a course of antibiotics and intends to battle on until the end of the season before having surgery.
The 28-year-old said in a statement yesterday that he intends to fulfil the rest of his fixture commitments from now until the end of the campaign.
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