Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray remain on a collision course for the Shanghai final and they are heavy favorites in their respective semis on Saturday. Djokovic is facing Roberto Bautista Agut, while Murray is going up against Gilles Simon.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (15) Roberto Bautista Agut
Djokovic has not been at his best since winning the French Open for the first time in his career and nothing has changed at the Shanghai Rolex Masters–even though he has battled into the semifinals. The top-ranked Serb made relatively quick work of Fabio Fognini and Vasek Pospisil before running into some serious quarterfinal trouble in the form of qualifier Mischa Zverev. Djokovic trailed the veteran German by a set and a break but stormed back to survive 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3. The No. 1 seed and defending champion is now 59-6 for the season and 27-3 lifetime in Shanghai.
Up next for Djokovic on Saturday is Bautista Agut, who trails the head-to-head series 5-0–including 3-0 on hard courts. The 19th-ranked Spaniard is 2-12 against Djokovic in total sets, although they recently waged a competitive contest at Roland Garros this spring (Djokovic won 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5). Bautista Agut has improved his 2016 record to a stellar 47-19 with straight-set victories this week over Bernard Tomic (via retirement), Taylor Fritz, Viktor Troicki, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The 15th seed’s struggles against the very top players in the world, however, are well-documented and they should continue against Djokovic.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
[polldaddy poll=9551558]
Gilles Simon vs. (2) Andy Murray
Murray and Simon will be squaring off for the 17th time in their careers on Saturday. The head-to-head series is being dominated 14-2 by Murray, who has won 14 of their 15 last encounters since losing their first-ever meeting at the 2007 Rome Masters. They have faced each other only one this season, when the second-ranked Scot cruised 6-4, 6-2.
The undisputed best player on tour since the start of the grass-court swing, Murray still has a chance to overtake Djokovic and finish 2016 as the No. 1 player in the world. He has won four of his last six tournaments and has improved his season record to 63-9 with shanghai blowouts of Steve Johnson, Lucas Pouille, and David Goffin. From just about out of nowhere, Simon is through to a Masters 1000 semifinal following wins over Pablo Carreno Busta, Di Wu, Stan Wawrinka, and Jack Sock. Only Sock, who succumbed in a third-set tiebreaker on Friday, has managed to take a set. But this is a nightmare matchup for the Frenchman, whose style of play is similar to that of Murray but lacking any real offensive firepower. Another straight-setter is likely in the cards for the second seed.
Pick: Murray in 2 losing 5-7 games
[polldaddy poll=9551560]
Allez Gillou, get a set, s’il vous plait :/
Wow! RBA won?
Congratulations to him!
I am happy that the Djokovic dominance has ceased for now …at that rate he was shattering records lol. I think it is WAY TOO EARLY to conclude anything about him…he ain’t fading away!!
Murray is the man of the moment though. He is crushing the field.
He could end the year as no.1
In the earlier poll I had Simon winning 5-7 games and actually thought it would be 7, so was right about that. But I certainly did not expect the match to unfold as it did with all those breaks of serve and UFEs. I hope the final is a more entertaining match. I predicted Murray would win this tourney, so go Andy!
Murray is playing very well at the moment, hasnt even lost a set at Beijing and Shanghai so far, very impressive. He’s almost like the 2015 Djoko during these two events.
I think he may end the year as no.1 going at this rate.
I think it’s a good thing that Murray has stepped up! Things were getting too boring in men’s tennis.
Nole played passive and hit mostly short balls until his back was up against it when he was able to elevate his play and hit deeper more aggressive shots but too little to late.
Mental problemas are everywhere.
Nice to see a race to No. 1 but a shame it has to be due to one of them checking out mentally.
https://s9.postimg.org/5aci0cx0f/20161015_222642.gif
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCOsGZh4lWI