Djokovic, Murray Highlight Saturday Semis In Shanghai

The semi-finals at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Saturday feature the top two players in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, along with No. 15 seed Roberto Bautista Agut and 2014 finalist Gilles Simon. Djokovic and Murray, who have combined to win five of the previous seven Shanghai titles, are on course to meet for the 35th time (third in Shanghai) and fifth this season (first since Roland Garros). But first, they have business at hand in the semi-finals.

In the first singles match on Stadium Court, Djokovic brings a 5-0 career record (3-0 on hard) against Bautista Agut. They last met this year in the fourth round at Roland Garros, with Djokovic rallying from a set down to win in four sets. Djokovic is appearing in his seventh semi-final in Shanghai in as many attempts. He has a 21-1 record in Shanghai since 2012, with his lone loss to Federer in the semi-finals two years ago. The World No. 1 is trying to reach his 10th final of the season (7-2), 44th in an ATP Masters 1000 event (30-13) and 95th final of his career (66-28). The 29-year-old Serbian leads the ATP World Tour with seven titles this year, including four coming at ATP Masters 1000 events. Bautista Agut is appearing in his second career ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, the first since Madrid in 2014 (l. to Nadal). He has risen to No. 15 in the Emirates ATP Race to London. The 28-year-old Spaniard is trying to reach his fourth ATP World Tour final of the season (2-1) and earn his first career victory over a World No. 1 (0-5). He is 5-30 in his career vs. Top 10 opponents (2-7 this year). His 47 match wins in 2016 is a personal-best.

In the evening session, Murray takes a 14-2 record in his Fedex ATPHead2Head (7-1 on hard) against Simon. Murray has won 19 consecutive matches against Frenchmen going back to Rotterdam in February 2015, where Simon beat the Brit in the quarter-finals. Simon won their first meeting on clay in the first-round at Rome in 2007. Since then, Murray has dominated the series 14-1. Murray, who has yet to lose serve in 25 games this week, comes in with an eight-match winning streak (16-0 in sets) after capturing his 40th career title in Beijing last Sunday. He is trying to reach his career-best 10th final of the season (5-4). He is also looking to advance to his 20th career ATP Masters 1000 final (12-7) and 62nd in his career (40-21). Simon, who reached the Shanghai final two years ago (l. to Federer), is appearing in his sixth career ATP Masters 1000 semi-final (2-3) and his first since reaching the final four here two years ago. He is also eyeing his first ATP World Tour final since Metz in September 2015 (l. to Tsonga). His last title came in Marseille in February 2015 (d. Monfils). His other ATP Masters 1000 final came at Madrid in 2008 (l. to Murray).

In doubles semi-final action, No. 2 seeds and 2014 champions Bob and Mike Bryan meet countrymen John Isner and Jack Sock for the first time. In the other unseeded semi-final, Henri Kontinen and John Peers meet the first-time Croatian duo of Marin Cilic and Mate Pavic. The Bryans are No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Race to London and already have qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. The Bryans are two wins away from becoming the first team in the Open Era with 1,000 match wins (998-308). Kontinen and Peers have improved to No. 7 in the team race and they are trying to earn their first trip to the season finale.