World No 1 Novak Djokovic continued his brilliant 100 per cent record at the ATP China Open on Saturday, overpowering Andy Murray in straight sets to make his way into the final.
It was another ruthless serving display from the top seed in Beijing, who overcame a brief fightback from the 27-year-old Scot midway through the second set to claim a 6-3, 6-4 win.
Djokovic broke serve in the eighth game, taking advantage of some risky groundstrokes by Murray, to take the opening set.
The British sixth seed appeared to lose concentration early in the second set, dropping his serve in the first game and losing the next in a spell during which he failed to score a point.
But Murray took the upper hand thereafter, forcing two break points from his opponent in the fourth game, before finally clinching a deserved break at his next attempt.
The world No 11 was having his best moments of the match, taking points from Djokovic at the net during an attractive spell of tennis from both players.
However, Djokovic stepped up a gear when Murray pulled in front at 4-3, winning the next three games and allowing his opponent to take just one point.
“I felt like I could swing through the ball. I could dictate the play from the baseline better than I did in the previous games in the second set,” Djokovic said, explaining how he closed in on victory.
“Yeah, he played well. A couple of games we had some very, very long games. He broke back. He won that game. He was back in play, back in the match.
“But the comfortable hold at 4-3 probably allowed me to have that release in a way ... because obviously I didn’t want him to break me and get into a third set where it can go either way.”
The Serb is bidding for his fifth title in Beijing, a tournament he has won every year since 2009 – apart from 2011 when he did not take part.
He will meet either Slovak qualifier Martin Klizan or Czech third seed Tomas Berdych in Sunday’s final.
Murray was vying for his second consecutive title in China after he won in Shenzhen last weekend.
“I was doing a decent job of it myself, but I just made a few too many errors today,” he said.
“I played some good stuff. But the period the middle of the first set, and the beginning of the second set, I could have done better.”
Murray is desperately chasing points as he pushes to qualify for next month’s ATP World Tour Finals, which features the top eight men’s players.
Only five berths are still available as the world’s top three – Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – have already confirmed their place for the London tournament.
Murray sits in ninth place, but will have an opportunity to pick up points at the Shanghai Masters next week.
Meanwhile, at the Japan Open, third seed Milos Raonic and US Open finalist Kei Nishikori will meet in the final for the second time in three years on Sunday.
Canadian Raonic, seeded third, dominated Gilles Simon of France 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday to reach his third consecutive final in the capital. Nishikori mounted a comeback as he overhauled Germany’s Benjamin Becker 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7/2).
The 24-year-old was treated for lower back pain during his Friday quarter-final but has soldiered on to the delight of daily sellout crowds at the 10,000 capacity Ariake Colosseum.
Nishikori powered back after losing the first set against Becker, sweeping the second to love and winning a tiebreaker to prevail after losing a 3-1 break in the final set.
Raonic and Nishikori are both contenders in the battle to secure places for next month’s eight-man ATP World Tour Finals in London, with Nishikori standing provisional sixth and Raonic on eighth.
The Canadian lost to Nishikori here two years ago and was beaten a year ago for the title by Argentine Juan Martin del Potro.
Raonic finished off Simon with 11 aces to bring his total for the season past 900.
“I believe it’s the best I have played all week,” said the Canadian. “I executed well and I had a clear vision of what I need to do, so I was making the right shot selections.
“Gilles can get into a very comfortable rhythm from the baseline, so it was important to break him down, be aggressive and come forward to make him feel pressure.”
Nishikori stands 3-1 against Raonic, beating his rival in Madrid and the US Open this season while losing to the Canadian at Wimbledon.
Raonic is looking forward to the challenge of facing the on-form Asian player.
“Against Kei, it is something to look forward to. A lot of people here want it (victory).
“I have to execute well and serve well, focusing on myself ... It’s something to look forward to and I want to reverse the result in the final here over the past two years.”
Raonic needed just 71 minutes to advance, breezing through the opening set against the 37th-ranked Simon in just over half an hour.
But he then had to maintain his concentration for a further 30 minutes while the roof of the venue was closed because of drizzle.
The Canadian came out strong in the second set, breaking for 3-2 from a Simon double-fault, and then dominated to the end as he advanced on his second match point.
Raonic, winner of the Washington event in August, owns a 32-13 record this season.
Nishikori is feeling the physical toll from two weeks of intense tennis after winning the Kuala Lumpur tournament last week in the wake of his historic New York grand slam performance as the first Asian man to get to the title match at a major.
“It’s not the best situation, but my back is fine this week. It was a tough win. He started well and I had to really fight to recover.
“Now there is another difficult match coming up. I’ll have to try and recover so I can play my best to try and beat Milos.”
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