Roger Federer thrashed by Andy Murray

Centre Court at Qizhong Arena seems to represent Andy Murray's idea of nirvana. After 12 matches at the Shanghai Masters, Murray has yet to be beaten, and on Saturday he came through his semi-final with such comfort that it was hard to believe he had just seen off the great Roger Federer.

But Murray's work here is far from done. Having beaten the world No?1, he must prepare for today's final against a resurgent Novak Djokovic, who stands at No?2, and looked in equally slick form yesterday as he disposed of Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-4.

It may be played far away from tennis's traditional strongholds, but this morning's match is likely to capture the imagination of the sporting world, for it represents an encore of last month's breathtaking US Open final between Murray and Djokovic.

As Rafael Nadal continues to rest his wonky right knee, it feels as if the balance of power is shifting from the elder two members of the 'Big Four' to the younger pair. That was certainly the message from yesterday's semi-final, in which Federer looked hunted and harried from the first point. As soon as Murray arrived on court, he started feasting on the great man's second serve, which has usually been one of his chief strengths.

The pressure was so intense that Federer strained for more pace and sharper angles, and in the fifth game of the match we saw a true collector's item: three consecutive double-faults. Murray thus earned a break with just a single touch of the ball, having had already set up 0-15 with one of many searing service returns.

Murray held on to his advantage to take that first set 6-4, and then there was a peculiar interlude at the start of the second when Federer suggested that there were spots of rain in the air, and the match should be halted.

Had he been cruising through his service games in his normal imperious manner, he might barely have noticed a few tiny drops of water on the court. But this was an uncomfortable match for him, so perhaps he was sensitive to small distractions.

The debate came midway through a 19-minute game, which featured seven break points for Murray, and one quite brilliant rally in which Federer somehow fought his way back from the brink with three successive strokes of genius: a pinpoint lob, a forehand attack down the line and an angled drop volley that dropped just inside the court.

But while Federer would occasionally produce one of the inspired moments that are his trademark, too many of the bread-and-butter points were going to Murray. The Swiss was getting drawn into a lot of backhand-to-backhand cross-court rallies, which Murray invariably won. And then there were the many second serves that were smacked back even faster than they arrived. As Murray settled into his return stance, he had that eager expression you see in a batsman who is hitting every ball for six.

The rain started to fall again, more seriously this time, as Murray was about to serve for the match at 5-4 up. The roof of the Qizhong Arena had to be closed, which necessitated a 36-minute delay. But it never felt as if the hold-up was likely to change the momentum of the match: Murray had been too dominant for that.

As soon as the players came back on court, he played out a straightforward game to hold to 15. Federer sliced a return into the net to complete a below-par performance in which he never got to grips with Murray's serve.

Federer's watching coach, Paul Annacone, may have some work to do as the players move forward into the indoor season, but at least that is Federer's strongest suit. He is defending titles in Basle, Paris and at the ATP World Tour Finals in London, and after the way he took Murray apart once the roof came over in the Wimbledon final this summer, he will feel he can regroup from this.

Murray said, "He didn't serve that well for him tonight, so I was able to be very aggressive on his second serve. I went for it, like I did the past few times I played against him, and it worked tonight. When you're beating the best player of all time probably, it's obviously going to be special."

As for Djokovic, he has only lost once - to Murray in New York - in his last 16 matches. He is in the serving form of his life, nailing 75 per cent of his first serves yesterday, and accumulating 26 aces so far in the tournament. Today's final should produce some spectacular tennis.