Shanghai Rolex Masters 2015: Friday Tennis Scores, Results and Updated Schedule
Third seed Andy Murray crushed Tomas Berdych in Friday's quarter-finals at the 2015 Shanghai Masters to seal his place in the last four.
Rafael Nadal claimed his place in the semi-finals with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 victory over a below-par Stan Wawrinka.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won in straight sets against Bernard Tomic, while Kevin Anderson fell in three sets to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after he blew his chance to take a first-set tiebreak.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Here is a roundup of Friday's results and a closer look at the key clashes:
| Result | Score |
| (16) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. (12) Kevin Anderson | 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4 |
| (8) Rafael Nadal def. (4) Stan Wawrinka | 6-2, 6-1 |
| (1) Novak Djokovic def. Bernard Tomic | 7-6(6), 6-1 |
| (3) Andy Murray def. (5) Tomas Berdych | 6-1, 6-3 |
| Player | vs. | Player |
| (16) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | vs. | (8) Rafael Nadal |
| (1) Novak Djokovic | vs. | (3) Andy Murray |
Friday Recap
Scotsman Murray was hugely impressive as he ousted world No. 5 Berdych in an 80-minute masterclass.
The pair exchanged service matches before a rampant Murray won nine games in a row to effectively seal his spot in the semi-finals.
The world No. 2 simply couldn't miss as he had Berdych on the run from the off. A crushing backhand return to seal the set 6-1 with a third break was indicative of just how well Murray played.
Two inch-perfect forehands then saw Murray save break point in the first game of the second set and continue his winning run.
Berdych finally won a second game in the match to make it 3-1 in the second set, but although the Czech managed to hold serve twice more, Murray proved simply too good to allow any possibility of a comeback.
The Sunday Times' Barry Flatman pithily summed up the match:
Nadal gave further proof that he is returning to somewhere near his best as he brushed world No. 4 Wawrinka aside in their quarter-final clash.
The Spaniard took a vital break to lead 4-2 in the first set, and Wawrinka's error-strewn service game at 5-2 handed Nadal the opener.
Matters worsened for Wawrinka in the second set as an impressive Nadal rushed into a 5-0 lead, but some uncharacteristic misses from the Swiss helped out the No. 8 seed.
Wawrinka's backhand, usually so reliable, was not firing on Friday, and he regularly handed Nadal free points as he went long and wide with his forehand while trying to force the issue, per tennis writer Carole Bouchard:
He avoided the bagel in the second set despite a couple of double faults, but Nadal served out the match for a routine and satisfying victory.
Djokovic was made to sweat in the opening set by an impressive Tomic, who forced a tiebreak after the pair exchanged breaks of serve.
The Australian had the chance to take the initiative in the breaker, but Djokovic netted a potential backhand winner at 4-4, and Djokovic went on to seal it 8-6.
The Serb then stepped up a gear in the second set and earned two early breaks. He went on to clinch the match just inside the 90-minute mark.
Anderson will be kicking himself for having squandered a number of chances to gain the upper hand in his eventual defeat to Tsonga in China.
A string of service holds from both men led to an opening-set tiebreak in which the big South African took a 6-3 lead to put himself on the verge of edging ahead.
However, Tsonga won five straight points to unexpectedly seal the first set, as Anderson failed to take any of his three set points.
The world No. 10 responded well as the pair again exchanged service holds for 6-5. Anderson then took advantage of a lapse in concentration from Tsonga to claim the first break of the match and close the second set 7-5.
The Frenchman, though, was the man to take advantage in the decider as he claimed a vital break of serve to lead 2-1.
At 5-4 ahead he earned his first match point at 40-30 and sent down an unreturnable serve to cement his place in the last four and rob Anderson of a first Masters 1000 semi-final.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
