Murray Turns Up Heat On Djokovic For No. 1

Andy Murray took a significant step in his quest to overthrow Novak Djokovic as year-end World No. 1, after reaching his 20th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Murray downed Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the championship, striking 22 winners.

Victory in Sunday’s final would move him to within striking distance of the top spot in the Emirates ATP Race To London after Djokovic suffered a semi-final defeat to Roberto Bautista Agut earlier on Saturday. The battle for year-end No. 1, a mantle held by the Serbian four of the past five years, is approaching a critical stage with the Scot moving to 1,315 points behind his longtime rival. A title in Shanghai would see Murray close the gap to less than 1,000, with three tournaments remaining on his 2016 schedule. The season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals could play a pivotal role.

It was a cagey affair under the lights on Stadium court on Saturday, with Simon constantly pestering Murray’s serve. The Frenchman broke three times in the first set, including once when Murray served for the opener at 5-3. But the second seed would not be deterred, converting his first set point a game later in the most dramatic fashion. Simon lofted a perfectly placed lob just inside the baseline, which Murray tracked down, set his feet and countered with a sublime backhand lob of own. Simon had no answer, as Murray took a 6-4 lead after 53 minutes, despite striking 18 unforced errors.

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The second set was more routine for the Scot, who would convert the decisive break for 2-0 after a marathon 13-minute second game. Murray would be broken serving for the match at 5-1, but found the finish line two games later, converting his first match point after one hour and 43 minutes.

“It was a tough match today,” said Murray. “Probably the hardest one I had this week. Because of the conditions, it felt unbelievably humid on the court. I don’t know if that’s because the stadium was more full and therefore it was warmer.

“It was tough. There were lots of long rallies and a lot of ups and downs. He went up a break in the first set and came back at the end of both sets. It was hard. A lot of long games and I was behind on a few of my service games, too. It was a good one to get through in two sets.” 

Murray previously lifted the trophy in Shanghai in 2010 (d. Federer) and 2011 (d. Ferrer). He extended his FedEx ATP Head2Head lead over Simon to 15-2, having also prevailed in straight sets at the Mutua    Madrid Open earlier this year. The World No. 2, who leads the ATP World Tour this year with 64 match wins, has won 20 consecutive matches against Frenchmen.

Murray will face Bautista Agut for the trophy on Sunday. The Spaniard will be seeking to overturn an 0-2 mark against the Scot, having dropped all five sets played. Murray previously claimed victory at Wimbledon in 2014 and last year in the Munich semi-finals.

Simon was bidding to reach his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final and first since falling to Roger Federer in the Shanghai title match in 2014. He caps a strong week, having upset World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka on Thursday for his first Top 5 victory in nearly two years.