Shanghai

Roger Federer returned to form to beat Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-4 7-6(4) and reach the Shanghai Masters semifinals.

The 20-times Grand Slam winner has produced a series of lacklustre performances in Shanghai, his first tournament since suffering a shock fourth-round defeat by John Millman at the US Open last month.

Yet he made an aggressive start against Nishikori to take a 4-1 lead in the opening set. Federer held off a late charge from the Japanese to take the opener before recovering from a 1-4 deficit in the second set tiebreak to seal victory. The 37-year-old will next face Croatian Borna Coric, who dumped Matthew Ebden out of the tournament 7-5 6-4. Novak Djokovic beat South African Kevin Anderson 7-6(1) 6-3, setting up a semifinal clash with Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who beat Kyle Edmund 6-4 6-4.