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Murray powers into Shanghai final

Andy Murray powered into his second straight final at a Masters 1000 event on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Argentine Juan Monaco in Shanghai.

The world number four Scot, who won the Toronto title in August, will play either second seed Novak Djokovic or world number three Roger Federer in the showdown.

Murray advanced over the 41^st-ranked Monaco in just under 90 minutes at the Qi Zhong centre as the South American put up a spirited battle but then fell to the fourth seed.

Murray’s comeback this week — after an early loss at the US Open and a quarter-final exit last week in Beijing — looks to have marked his return to top form.

The 23-year-old will be bidding to back up the Toronto crown he won over Federer, and is aiming for his fifth career victory at the elite Masters level.

Murray’s win was his 40^th of the season, in which he is still seeking a second trophy after winning an ATP-leading six trophies in 2009. The Scot has reached the final without losing a set.

Murray was made to work in the opening set by the dogged determination of Monaco, who once stood world number 14. But Murray took his chances early for a 3-1 lead.

His first effort at serving for the set was thwarted by a double fault which let Monaco back into contention, 4-5.

But Murray was not giving up, and broke back a game later to lift the opener after 53 minutes as Monaco netted a forehand.

The Scot secured the second set quickly and in spectacular fashion after a pair of 28 and 31-shot rallies in closing games. Murray advanced with two more breaks of the 26-year-old South American, reaching the final on the first of three match points, a service winner.

Murray ended his afternoon with 15 winners and the same number of unforced errors, after taking full advantage of nearly 30 errors off his opponent’s racquet.

Murray improved his record over Monaco to 2-1 after winning in the second round of Miami last year but losing two months later at the same stage in Rome.