Shanghai Masters: Novak Djokovic beats Tomas Berdych to reach Shanghai Masters final
Last Updated: October 13, 2012 5:57pm
Novak Djokovic: Serb bidding for back-to-back titles in Shanghai
Novak Djokovic reached the final of Shanghai Masters with a 6-3 6-4 win over Tomas Berdych.
World number two Djokovic, yet to drop a set at the tournament and fresh from winning last week's China Open, broke Berdych twice early on to set the tone for a dominant display.
The Serb faltered only once, when serving for the opening set, but did not make the same mistake a second time.
A further break of fourth seed Berdych's serve in the second set was enough for Djokovic to close out victory in one hour and 26 minutes.
He will play either world number one Roger Federer or his US Open final conqueror Andy Murray for the title on Sunday.
"Tomas is in great form in the last couple of months. He's always a difficult player to play against on any surface because he has a very powerful serve and great forehand," said Djokovic.
"I played tactically right. I was putting a lot of returns into the court, making a lot of pressure on his serve. On the other hand, I was serving well when I needed to."
Berdych, who has now lost 10 of 11 meetings between the pair, admitted he is running out of ideas on how to trouble Djokovic.
The Czech said: "He's a great player. I think just the game that he plays - it's not the one that suits my game that much. I like to play quite aggressive. But this doesn't hurt him that much. So it's much more difficult for me to play him.
"He's the second player in the world, chasing for the first place. It's really tough to find the way and have a positive record with him."
