Coric stuns Federer in Shanghai, faces Djokovic in final

Croatia's Borna Coric produced a masterful display of power-hitting to stun holder Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 in the Shanghai Masters on Saturday and will face Novak Djokovic in the final.

Coric was quick out of the blocks at the Qi Zhong Stadium as he broke in the opening game against the top seed, and only lost five points on serve to clinch the first set in 34 minutes.

Federer, competing in his first ATP tournament since a shock last-16 exit at the US Open, struggled for control against Coric's bludgeoning returns as the 13th seeded Croat clinched another early break to reach his first ATP Masters final.

The 21-year-old got his second straight win over Federer, having beaten the Swiss to lift the Halle title in June.

Coric, world-ranked 19th, will face one of his toughest tests of the season against Djokovic in Sunday's showpiece.

Three-time Shanghai Open winner Djokovic stormed past German Alexander Zverev 6-2, 6-1 in Saturday's earlier semifinal and claimed the World No. 2 ranking from Federer.

Djokovic did not face a break point en route to a 59-minute victory as he extended his winning streak to 17 ATP matches.

Second seed Djokovic, who has returned to his brutal best this season with Grand Slam wins at Wimbledon and the US Open, will surpass Federer as World No. 2 when the next edition of the ATP rankings are released on Monday.

"I did everything I intended to do on my end," the 31-year-old Serb, chasing his 32nd Masters title, said.

"It's all working and it's been a couple of perfect matches. There's a lot of positives to take from my matches this week."

Djokovic, who beat South African Kevin Anderson 7-6, 6-3 to reach the last four, knows a fourth Shanghai title would help him trim Rafa Nadal's lead at the top of the rankings. The Spaniard skipped the Asian swing to recover from a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Federer will decide as early as next month whether to return to clay-court action next year, the Swiss great said on Saturday, after losing his semifinal.

The 37-year-old has been managing his schedule and stopped playing the clay-court season, including the French Open, in the past two years to wring the most out of his ageing body.

Quizzed by reporters about his plans for next year, the 20-time Grand Slam winner — fresh from losing — showed a flash of irritation.

“Like I said, I think I will try to take a decision on the clay towards maybe before—well let’s say while I’m on vacation after London [ATP Finals November 11-18].

“So like this I know how to work on my fitness and tennis programme for those sort of four weeks in December.

“That then plays a role for the rest of the season, and that’s it, I still don’t know.

“And please stop asking me, I really don’t know.”