By Niall Clarke
- Andy Murray defeats Tomas Berdych 6-1, 6-3
- He will play Novak Djokovic in the semi final
- The other semi-final will be contested between Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Rafael Nadal.
Shanghai, China- Andy Murray breezed past Tomas Berdych for the loss of only four games to set up a semi-final clash with world number one Novak Djokovic in the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
The Brit made light work of the Czech who had normally troubled him in the past. Murray was in great form as he swept the world number five aside 6-1, 6-3.
The world number two will now meet world number one Djokovic in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Murray made a fast start by breaking in the third game before adding a second break at 4-1. The set was successfully served out in 38 minutes.
The British number one completed his nine consecutive game to go 3-0 up in the second set before cruising to victory.
The loss of only four games is an encouraging sign ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Djokovic. This will be the sixth time the pair have met this year, with the Serb leading 4-1 in the head to head. However, Murray won their last meeting in the Canadian Masters.
The world number one has been in imperious form since the US Open, not losing a set In his two tournaments since.
The world number one was threatened by Bernard Tomic in the third match of the day, but ultimately prevailed in straight sets 7-6(6), 6-1.
Djokovic went up a break as it looked like it was heading the way of all his recent matches, but Tomic proved tough and broke back to force a tiebreak. The Aussie saved set point on the Djokovic serve with a return winner, but the top seed was able to prevail.
A physically diminished Tomic was unable to put up a fight in the second set as Djokovic ran away with it for the loss of only one game. Tomic can still be proud of his week, and is in a good position to seal a top 16 seed in his home slam next January.
Jo Wilfried Tsonga was the first man to book a place in the final four after a three set victory over Kevin Anderson.
Despite being outplayed for the majority of the first set, Tsonga pulled a Houdini act, saving set points in the tiebreak to take it 8-6.
The second set was equally as tight, but a poor service game from the Frenchman gave Anderson the breakthrough and the set.
The world number 15 managed to regain his composure in the final set, earning the crucial break at 1-1. That would be enough for Tsonga to serve out the match and book his place in the semi-finals.
Tsonga will play Rafael Nadal tomorrow after the Spaniard looked more like his former self in a dominating 6-2, 6-1 victory over Stan Wawrinka.
The 14 time grand slam champion was hitting his forehand with more authority as the match quickly started to resemble their past meetings. Wawrinka had never won a set against Nadal before beating him in the Australian Open final last year and at Rome this year.
A demoralised Wawrinka did not put up much of a fight as the match slipped further and further away from his grasp. Nadal through for the loss of only three games.
Play resumes at 9:30AM with Tsonga vs Nadal. Murray and Djokovic are due on court at 1PM BST.
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