TheSportsCampus

Andy Murray entered his third consecutive final at the Shanghai Rolex Masters as he recorded a surprisingly comfortable 6-4, 6-4 win over World No.1 Roger Federer in the second semi-final played today. The Scotsman has had a stellar year, recovering rather amazingly from his heartbreaking loss in the Wimbledon final against Federer.

Murray had played just two matches this week following a bye and walkover in the first two rounds but played today's match with the new-found confidence he seems to have gained following his Olympic triumph. Murray is now on course to win his first ATP World Tour 1000 title of the year.

The two players exchanged breaks at the start of the match before Federer capitulated in the fifth game, serving three double faults and as a result losing his serve. Murray held on for the set and gained a break at the exact same point in the second set to earn a matchup against his old friend Djokovic.

The end was delayed briefly by rain, but Murray didn't allow a 30-minute delay to disrupt his momentum. Murray had a good match overall, and conceded just one break point on his serve all match, that in his opening service game which Federer took. In contrast, Federer was really poor on his serve, with his second serve in particular taken to school regularly by the Scot. When Federer started taking a little bit of pace off his first serve to start landing it on a more regular basis, Murray started teeing off on the first one as well, and realistically should have had a more overwhelming scoreline, having earned as many as 11 opportunities to break the Federer serve.

The idea of a Murray and Djokovic final is rather enticing. The two have known each other since their junior years and have had a number of memorable encounters against each other, two of them having come this year, in the semi-final of the Australian Open which Djokovic won and more recently, the final of the US Open which Andy Murray so memorably won. Both players are highly motivated to end the year on a high and the final promises to be a mouthwatering affair.

Score:

Andy Murray(GBR) beat Roger Federer(SUI) 6-4, 6-4

File Photograph by Dan Galbraith