SHANGHAI, October 15, 2016
Roberto Bautista-Agut caused the upset of the day, knocking out world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters. The 15th seed from Spain sent down five aces, winning 64 per cent of his first service points to seal victory in one hour and 48 minutes.
Bautista-Agut celebrated his first win over Djokovic in the pair’s sixth tour meeting. “I can’t describe how I feel. I’m so happy. I played really good tennis this week, and I hope to play the same tennis tomorrow in the final,” said Bautista-Agut, who will appear in his first ATP Masters 1000 final.
“I tried to force him to play his best tennis. I think in the first set he played some good tennis. He played a little bit better than me,” Bautista Agut said. “But then I knew that I had to increase my level. I had to play more aggressive… And then at 5-4, I started to play more aggressive and I started to play better tennis.”
Djokovic simply had to admit the defeat. “He was a better player, no question about it. In important moments, he was more consistent. He was more solid,” the 29-year-old from Serbia stated.
Bautista-Agut will take on Andy Murray, vying for his biggest title in his career. The world number two defeated Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 6-3. Murray fired six aces and converted six of his 12 break point chances to advance in 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 and Bautista-Agut will meet for the third time with the Brit leading 2-0 in head to head records. The last meeting took place at the BMW Open in Munich last year. Murray prevailed in straight sets.
