Defending champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the final of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday by seeing off Frencman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets.
Djokovic beat Tsonga 6-2, 7-3 in the first semi-final match of Saturday, with his temper boiling over at some point in the second set after two disputed calls.
The Serb, who lost his number one position to Rafael Nadal this week is bidding for back-to-back victories in his campaign on Chinese soil for the second straight year.
The victory extends the 26-year-old’s victory to 19 straight matches following his victories in the Beijing and Shanghai Open last year. Having won the former last week, he will look to defend the latter on Sunday.
An inspired Djokovic raced into a 3-0 lead seven minutes after the match served off as Tsonga got off to a poor start.
However, the Serb then lost his temper in the second set when serving at 4-2, yelling at the chair umpire Ali Nili after two disputed calls.
Tsonga twice challenged late calls that went against him- and both times the Hawk-Eye camera replay showed the ball had clipped the line. The umpire awarded both points to the Frenchman, prompting an angry reaction from Djokovic, who thought the points should have been replayed.
Tsonga capitalised on the Serb’s loss of composure to break back at 4-3, but couldn’t complete his comeback as another loss of concentration allowed Djokovic to break him at 6-5 and finish off the contest.
Meanwhile Tsonga yet remains in contention for the ATP World Tour at London’s O2 Arena, after moving into a desirable position to claim the last spot in the eight-man field for the tournament.
Djokovic will meet Juan-Martin del Potro, the winner of the winner of Saturday’s second semi-final by 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday’s final.
