Andy Murray of Britain holds the trophy during the awarding ceremony for men's singles at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai, east China, Oct. 16, 2016. Andy Murray claimed the title of the event by defeating Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in the final with 2-0. (Xinhua/Fan Jun)
SHANGHAI, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Andy Murray defeated Bautista Agut of Spain 7-6 (1), 6-1 to claim the Shanghai Masters crown on Sunday, edging closer to within 1,000 ranking points of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Murray's victory in one hour 36 minutes over Agut in the final saw him add to the China Open title last weekend, the sixth title of the year and the 41st of his career. This is the third time he has won the Shanghai Masters, which gives him 1,000 ranking points.
After triumphing at Shanghai Masters on Sunday, Murray, 29, climbed to 9,685 points, 915 points now behind Djokovic's 10,600 - and after the Paris Masters and the ATP World Tour Finals in London next month, Murray will bid to win for the first time to top the world tennis rankings from defending champion Djokovic.
Murray's impressive season has put him in position to eventually push Djokovic out of the No. 1 spot, but he's taking it step-by-step.
"What matters is what my priorities are, and right now I just want to finish these next few tournaments this year as best as I can," the Scot told the reporters.
Second seed Murray admitted that he surely has a chance to be No. 1 but also is aware of the difficulty to get there. "I definitely believe I can get there. You know, these last few months have proved that to me... so I'll give it my best shot to do that while I have the opportunity."
"Novak plays great tennis indoors, and also his record at the beginning of the year, as well, is phenomenal in Australia and Indian Wells, Miami," Murray added. "I have never played particularly well in London. You know, normally in Paris I hadn't played that well until last year, but I do like indoor conditions usually."
Defending champion Novak Djokovic angrily smashed his racket and ripped his shirt as he lost to Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals on Saturday night.
