Shanghai Masters: Federer moves to quarters stage

Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has advanced into the quarter-final of the ongoing Shanghai Masters after beating Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in their pre-quarters clash here on Thursday.

The 37-year-old edged past his Spanish opponent 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in a closely fought match that lasted one hour and 52 minutes.

The Swiss player, who managed an easy victory over Agut in the first set, lost his way in the second set after the Spaniard won four straight games to take a 4-1 advantage in the penultimate set.

The defending champion, however, made a strong comeback and broke his opponent's serve in the eighth game to eventually book his place in the last eight of the tournament.

In other matches, Japanese player Kei Nishikori registered a straight-set 7-6, 6-4 win over Sam Querrey of America to move into the Shanghai Master quarter-final.

Earlier, Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic had also entered the quarter-final of the tournament after thrashing Marco Cecchinato of Italy 6-4, 6-0 in their round of 16 clash.