SHANGHAI: World No 1 Novak Djokovic suffered a shock 6-4, 6-4 loss to Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut and his fierce rival Andy Murray beat France’s Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-3 in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals on Saturday.
Serbian Djokovic, 12-times grand slam champion, made 29 unforced errors against the 15th seed and converted just two of nine break points.
He saved three match points before Bautista Agut broke his serve for the fourth time to wrap up victory in one hour 48 minutes.
Djokovic, who smashed his racquet after losing the first set and tore his shirt during the match, was left fuming after umpire Carlos Bernardes gave him a time violation when changing his shirt.
“He was the star of the show. That’s what he wanted to be today,” the 29-year-old told reporters.
I’M EXHAUSTED, ADMITS DJOKOVIC
Since grabbing his first French Open title, Djokovic won in Toronto and reached the US Open final but he was also an early casualty at Wimbledon and the Olympics.
“In terms of results it was up and down, but there are definitely things that I need to regain from the emotional, mental point of view,” Djokovic said.
{{/usCountry}}“In terms of results it was up and down, but there are definitely things that I need to regain from the emotional, mental point of view,” Djokovic said.
{{/usCountry}}“So I guess I’m focusing on that more. It’s a transition somewhere in between, maybe just exhausted by the amount of matches I have had in the last 15 to 20 months.
“Maybe all in all that’s the cause of me feeling this way. But... I had to experience this sooner or later. I knew I could not go on playing at the highest level for so many years all the time.”
Murray who is bidding for his third Shanghai Masters title, will face Agut in the final on Sunday.
Agut has lost to Murray in their two previous meetings.