Shanghai: World No.1 Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise 4-6, 4-6 defeat against 15th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the Shanghai Masters semifinal here Saturday. Spaniard Agut, 28, had lost all five previous meetings with the Serbon the ATP circuit.
But the World No.19 took the first set in 42 minutes with his first breakpoint and broke three times in the next to triumph in an hour and 47 minutes. He will meet second-seeded Andy Murray who defeated Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-2 in the second semifinal.
Djokovic, a three-time winner of the event, was aiming to reach his 10th final of the season but could make little headway against Bautista Agut’s intrepid, athletic baseline tactics.
The Serb failed to take the two breakpoint chances he was able to create in the opening set and it was his opponent who seized the opportunity, prompting Djokovic to smash his racquet beyond repair.
In the second set, Djokovic fell behind 2-5. However, with Agut serving for the match, nerves seemed to affect the Spaniard and he committed three unforced errors to lose his serve. But then while serving to making it five-all in the second set, Djokovic committed his 28 and 29th unforced error allowing Agut to close out the game and the match.
This incidentally is the first time that Agut has reached the final of an ATP 1000 Masters event.
Wozniacki in final
In the women’s WTA Hong Kong Open, fifth seeded Caroline Wozniacki booked her place in the summit clash with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over defending champion and seventh seed Jelena Jankovic. She will meet Kristina Mladenovic of France who ended the giant-killing run of Daria Gavrilova with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph.
Agencies