Shanghai Masters: Alexander Zverev Routs Roger Federer To Advance To Semi-finals

Roger Federer could not survive the onslaught staged by Alexander Zevrev who denied him progress to the semi-finals, ending his bid for 29th Masters 1000 title in Shanghai.

Zverev, the title defender, shrugged off a fight from Federer in the second set after he had won the opener and sealed the victory in straight sets, 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-3 for his 4-in-3 ATP FedEx head-to-head run against the Swiss.

The match should have been decided in the second set when the German was just a set point away from victory at 6/5, 0-40 but the two-champion fought back and save five match points to force a decider, in which he was simply overpowered by the reigning champion.

Speaking after the match, the 22-year-old admitted beating Federer does not come easily unless you are at your best because he uses a lot of tricky moves and shots to keep his opponents on their toes and get a victory.

Roger Federer has won 19 Masters 1000 titles in his career

"He will always find a way. He will always make it tricky for you like he did today with me," Zevrev said. "You always got to play your best tennis to have a chance,"

Having 77 percent on first-serve points, Zverev served 17 aces against Federer and won 4-in-8 breakpoints advantages.

Explaining how he was able to knock the Swiss out, he added: "I knew if I'm going to keep playing the way I played the first two sets, I'm going to have a chance in the third as well."

He now set up a semi-final match against Italian player, Matteo Berrettini, who outlasted China Open champion, Dominic Thiem, in straight sets, 7-6(8), 6-4.