Djokovic eases into Shanghai Masters semis

Former world number one Novak Djokovic breezed into the semi-final of the ongoing Shanghai Masters after defeating Kevin Anderson of South Africa in their round of 8 clash here on Friday.

The 31-year-old registered a convincing 7-6(1), 6-3 win over Anderson in the quarter-final clash that lasted one hour and 44 minutes.

In a closely-fought opening set, the South African player failed to convert one set point resulting in a tie-break between the two opponents. Djokovic made a positive start by claiming the first three points of the tie-break. Having won 10 of the last 11 points in the set, the fourteen-time Grand Slam champion geared ahead to make a winning start to the match.

In the next set, the Serbian player capitalised on the weak service of Anderson and gained the much-needed initial momentum. With his impressive service speed and placement, the world number three won 85 per cent of his first-service points which helped him clinch the second set.

Djokovic will now take on Alexander Zverev of Germany to cement his spot in the final of the tournament.