Djokovic extends winning streak to reach Shanghai semis

Three-times Shanghai Masters champion Novak Djokovic extended his winning streak to 16 matches by beating South African Kevin Anderson 7-6(1) 6-3, edging the Serb closer to the world No.2 ranking.

Djokovic, who has won the last two Grand Slams at Wimbledon and the US Open, is currently world No.3 but could move up a spot if he books a place in Sunday’s final.

The Serb repeated his Wimbledon final win over Anderson to set up a semifinal clash with Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who became the fifth singles player to qualify for November’s ATP Finals with a 6-4 6-4 win over Kyle Edmund.

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“He (Zverev) has improved a lot, and he has established himself as a top player,” Djokovic said.

“I think, quite similar in style of play to today’s match. Kevin is a big server, big hitter from the back of the court, really aggressive, tall. Sascha (Zverev) is similar to that.”

Best match of the week!@rogerfederer delivers an incredible performance to take out Nishikori 6-4 7-6(4) to reach the Shanghai semi-finals.#RolexSHMasters pic.twitter.com/wlqFFq8xPr

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 12, 2018

Zverev became the first German to seal a spot in successive years in the season-ending event since six-times Grand Slam winner Boris Becker between 1994-1996.

“It’s great to finally officially make it and again be a part of the best eight, which is an elite group,” the 21-year-old said.

“It’s close to, or it’s maybe equal to winning a Grand Slam, and I think other players will tell you the same thing, because just to be there, you obviously play well throughout the whole year.”

Defending champion Roger Federer returned to form to beat Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-4 7-6(4) in their quarterfinal meeting.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner had produced a series of lacklustre performances in Shanghai, his first tournament since suffering a shock fourth-round defeat by Australia’s John Millman at the US Open last month.

“I was very happy with the beginning of the match, to be quite honest,” said Federer.

“I played quite great there. Then the second set was key moments who was going to play a little bit better. Kei really tried to step it up one more time. I somehow got it done, so I was very pleased.”

Matt Ebden missed his chance to become Australian No.1 after losing to Croatia’s Borna Coric in straight sets.

The West Australian, who is set to rise to a career high of world No.40 next week, was beaten 7-5 6-4 on Friday.

World No.19 Coric will now face top seed Federer in the semifinals.