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Story highlights
Roger Federer defeats Novak Djokovic in Shanghai Masters semifinal
Djokovic was unbeaten in 28 matches on Chinese soil coming into match
Federer will face Giles Simon of France in Sunday's final
Murray and Ferrer take on extra tournaments in bid to reach ATP World Tour Finals
Roger Federer produced an imperious performance to end Novak Djokovic’s 28 match winning streak on Chinese courts and claim a place in the final of the Shanghai Masters tournament Saturday.
The Swiss was in a confident, aggressive mood all evening, serving eight aces and firing down 35 winners, on his way to a 6-4 6-4 straight sets victory in just over an hour-and-a-half.
Federer will now face the unseeded Giles Simon in Sunday’s final after the 29-year-old Frenchman overcame Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-2 7-6 (7/1) in the day’s earlier semifinal matchup.
“I’m not going to come into the match and play terrible,” Federer said in quotes carried by the ATP website. “It just won’t happen - not in the finals, not against Simon. That’s the confidence I have right now.”
“There was nothing in the game today that wasn’t working. I think it was a high-level match. I’m unbelievably happy with the way it went.”
The vanquished Djokovic was humble in defeat and paid tribute to his opponent’s ruthlessness.
“I think I did not play too bad,” said Djokovic, whose impressive China run included Shanghai Masters titles in 2012 and 2013 as well as three straight wins at the China Open in Beijing.
“It’s just that he played everything he wanted to play,” Djokovic added. “He played the perfect match …an amazing match.”
Federer’s passage to the Shanghai final coupled with Rafael Nadal’s early exit means he is now guaranteed to return to No.2 in the ATP world rankings on Monday no matter the outcome of Sunday’s match.
Simon last reached the final of a Masters tournament six years ago and has dropped as low as 44th in the world this year but could rise to as high as 15th if he defeats Federer.
“I just know that I can do it,” Simon told reporters after defeating Lopez. “When I’m playing good, I can play at (Federer’s) level.”
“The question is whether I will be able to do it tomorrow.”
The race to London
Andy Murray and David Ferrer have both announced they will take on an extra tournament next week in a bid to qualify for November’s ATP World Tour Finals in London.
Only the top eight ranked players qualify for the season-concluding event with a potential $2 million prize pot. Ferrer is currently ranked ninth while Murray is two places adrift in eleventh.
Both players have registered to take part in the Vienna Open which begins Tuesday and will also appear at tournaments in Valencia and Paris later in October.
Only three players, Djokovic, Federer and Nadal, have the rankings points to guarantee their participation in London.
Others with a shot of appearing in the British capital include Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori, Tomas Berdych, Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov.