Federer to face Murray in Shanghai final

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – World number three Roger  Federer beat Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-4 yesterday to set up a mouthwatering Shanghai Masters final against a resurgent Andy Murray today.

Serbian second seed Djokovic had hoped to secure his second title of the week after winning the China Open on Monday but squandered four break points in the first set against the Swiss.

Federer, 29, has faced Murray twice this year, beating him in the final of the Australian Open but losing out to the Briton for the Toronto Masters title in August.      “I do really enjoy playing Roger and wouldn’t mind playing him. It’s a great experience every time,” Murray told reporters after his 6-4 6-1 win over Argentine Juan Monaco.

“When I played him in the Toronto final, I was a lot more  aggressive and didn’t give him many chances to dictate the  points, especially on my serve.

That’s something that I need to do against him if I want to beat him,” he added.
Murray, recovered from a recent illness, has yet drop a set in the tournament. Several times, he drew Monaco to the net before launching booming backhands or lobs towards the exposed baseline, even  breaking his racket strings after one return to foil the stunned  Argentine.

Crowd-favourite Murray took one hour 25 minutes to see off  his former training partner, sealing the match with an ace.