Roger Federer brought to an end a remarkable Novak Djokovic winning streak in China by defeating him in the semi-final of the Shanghai Masters.
Federer beat Djokovic in straight sets at the tournament that the Serbian dominated for much of his career.
The star won the previous two in 2012 and 2013, but Federer found a way to defeat him 6-4 6-4 at the ATP 1000 event in 2014.
Djokovic showed his class by praising Federer after his run of 28 consecutive wins in China came to an end.
Novak Djokovic said Roger Federer played the ‘perfect’ match against him at the 2014 Shanghai Masters
Djokovic has won the Shanghai Masters four times in his career, more than anybody else in the tournament’s history since the inaugural event in 2009.
Despite falling to a streak-ending loss, Djokovic conceded that his arch-rival was the better man on the day.
“I think I did not play too bad,” said Djokovic, who lost to Federer three times that year, including at Dubai and Monte Carlo.
“It’s just that he played everything he wanted to play,” Djokovic continued. “He played the perfect match …an amazing match!”
The Serbian quickly got his revenge on Federer by lifting the ATP Tour Finals a month later at the expense of the Swiss star.
The pair’s head-to-head throughout their career was incredibly close, with Djokovic edging their 40 matches with 27 wins.
Roger Federer was delighted with his performance at the 2014 Shanghai Masters
Federer won the tournament after dispatching Djokovic in the semi-finals by defeating Gilles Simon in the final.
The Swiss star was incredibly confident heading into the match with the Frenchman after ending Djokovic’s incredible run.
“I’m not going to come into the match and play terrible,” Federer said in his post-match interview after defeating Djokovic.
“It just won’t happen – not in the finals, not against Simon. That’s the confidence I have right now. There was nothing in the game today that wasn’t working. I think it was a high-level match. I’m unbelievably happy with the way it went.”
The Swiss star defeated Simon in straight sets thanks to two tie-breakers to lift the trophy for the first time. He would win the tournament one more time in 2017 by defeating Rafael Nadal.
