Agencies
Shanghai, October 8
Andy Murray came out on top against Jerzy Janowicz with a straight-sets win at the Shanghai Masters – just eight days after beating him at the China Open.
Murray, who came back from a set down to defeat the big-serving Janowicz in Beijing on his way to the semi-finals, kept his bid to make the end of season ATP World Tour Finals firmly on track with a comfortable 7-5 6-2 victory on Grandstand Court.
The 27-year-old is hoping to book his place in next month’s tournament, which features the world’s top eight players, and would need a deep run at the Masters 1000 event to help his cause.The world No 11, who is currently ninth in the Race To London, took one hour 28 minutes to despatch the 23-year-old.
He made a faultless start on serve, hammering down five aces and losing just four points from his opening six games.
Murray closed out the set and prevented the need for a tie-break by breaking the 37th-ranked Pole in the 12th game thanks to a remorseless show of determination.
The Scot, who is aiming to win his second title in China this year after winning the Shenzhen Open at the end of last month, was brimming with confidence as Janowicz’s confidence quickly evaporated.
The former Wimbledon semi-finalist was pushed to the limit in his opening round clash over France’s Edouard Roger-Vasselin and was clearly finding it tough going against a razor sharp Murray who broke through in the fourth game of the second set for a 3-1 lead.
Janowicz required treatment on his right ankle soon after and Murray, a two-time champion in Shanghai, wrapped up proceedings after his opponent double-faulted to gift him a passage through to the next round.
He will now face old adversary David Ferrer in a rematch of their 2011 final after the Spaniard boosted his chances of making the London event by surviving a tense second round encounter against Martin Klizan, who served for the match in the second set.
The fifth seed found the going difficult against his Slovak opponent before grinding out a 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victory as he looks to climb up from his current 10th position in the race for one of the eight spots at the November tournament.
