Murray rolls to Shanghai title at Federer’s expense

SHANGHAI - Andy Murray won the Shanghai Masters Sunday as he stunned Swiss Roger Federer 6-3, 6-2 to get his season back in the groove after months of poor form.

The world number four Scot was unstoppable in the quick defeat lasting less than 90 minutes.

The victory was a repeat of Murray’s Masters win against Federer in Toronto in August and improved the 23-year-old’s record against the Swiss to 8-5.

“I had a great week and played some of my best tennis,” said Murray. “I had to play great to have a chance against Roger. But I was able to do that today.”

Federer had a miserable day all around at the Qi Zhong centre, committing 30 unforced errors and failing on all six of his break points. Murray broke four times and completely dominated the contest with 20 winners.

Nevertheless, Federer will move back to second in the rankings behind Rafael Nadal after defeating Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. The Swiss saved a match point in the final game but took the loss on a return long.

“I know how tough it is to win these Masters titles,” said Federer, who missed his chance to level on the all-time record of 18 Masters shields with Nadal. “It’s not easy, Andy had a great effort.

“I had some chances but I couldn’t break through. He played great and didn’t give me much.

“He made me work hard, I couldn’t find many great shots, he was too good. But I still had a good week and beat some good players,” he said after defeating Robin Soderling in the quarter-finals and Djokovic in a dominating semi-final Saturday.