Despite dropping only one set on the way to the final, Murray simply could not compete as Djokovic won his sixth Masters title of the year – setting a new record.
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Both players conceded only one break point as all games went to serve and the world number one prevailed on his second match point to set up a mouthwatering semi-final meeting with fourth seed Stan Wawrinka after the Swiss downed 14-times grand slam champion Rafa Nadal 7-6 (8) 7-6 (7).
Djokovic then held at love and broke again before serving out the set in 42 minutes.
Murray beat Ferrer in the French Open quarterfinals this year and leads him 11-6 overall, including six of their last seven encounters.
The two-time grand slam victor, however, is hoping to use those defeats to improve his own game. “I don’t know what speed the court’s going to be”.
Novak Djokovic’s serve suffered a second-set malfunction in his third round match against Gilles Simon at the Paris Masters but stayed on course for a third consecutive title at Bercy with a 6-3 7-5 victory on Thursday. They won similar number of points in shortest points, and in those above 9th stroke, but Novak once again was unreached in 5-9 shots rallies, with two thirds of points won.
However, that scenario appears less likely now and, asked if his back was a concern, Murray told Sky Sports: “I don’t think so”. Murray got past David Ferrer 6-4, 6-3 in the other semifinal.
The Swiss had sipped coffee during a gruelling quarter-final clash with Rafael Nadal that finished in the early hours of Saturday morning and he appeared worn out against Djokovic early on.
In a prelude to this month’s Davis Cup final, Andy Murray routed David Goffin 6-1, 6-0 to reach the quarter-finals at the Paris Masters.
However, Murray drew on all his energy reserves to break Gasquet straight back and swing the match back in his favour, a further break proving enough to see him through a testing match which he feels will augur well for the forthcoming Davis Cup final in Belgium.
Despite holding the upper hand in most of their head-to-head battles this week, Djokovic is anticipating a hard test when he meets Murray in the final.
In the second-set tiebreaker, Djokovic moved 5-3 up only for Berdych to pull back to 6-5. “I had an issue in Basel already, so I just felt it coming”, said the 34-year-old legend.
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The Serb broke early to claim a 3-1 lead and did not face a single break point in cruising to a first-set success.
