Novak Djokovic gained sweet revenge for his US Open defeat to Andy Murray on Sunday, saving five match points to seal a stunning 5-7, 7-6 (13/11), 6-3 victory in the Shanghai Masters final.
The iron-willed Serbian was second-best for long stretches but refused to be beaten and sealed his 13th Masters title in a contest lasting three hours and 21 minutes as he pursues Roger Federer at the top of the rankings.
The thrilling duel, played out in front of a packed crowd at the Qi Zhong Stadium, hinged on a monster second set tie-break that lasted more than 20 minutes, which the second seed won to stay alive in the match.
The defeat was third seed Murray’s first loss at the Shanghai Masters after he won the tournament in 2010 and last year.
“I’m obviously disappointed I lost the match,” said Murray. “But it was a top-quality match. Both of us played some unbelievable tennis at times.
“It was litreally the difference of one, two centimetres in winning the match and losing it. You have to put things into perspective. It was obviously a bit frustrating but it was so close and could have been a different outcome.”
A gruelling first set contained seven breaks of serve as the players went toe-to-toe in a breathtaking display of power hitting, with neither able to grab the initiative.