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Andy Murray had to wait five years to lift another trophy at the Shanghai Masters, conquering the event in 2010 and 2011 and adding the third crown in 2016. Thus, Andy became the second three-time Shanghai champion after Novak Djokovic.
Novak lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-final, losing his crown and allowing Andy to chase his 13th Masters 1000 crown. Murray met Bautista Agut in the final and scored a 7-6, 6-1 triumph in an hour and 37 minutes. Andy scored three commanding wins in Shanghai before losing serve four times against Gilles Simon in the semi-final.
Still, the Briton sealed the deal in straight sets and advanced into the title clash. Bautista Agut ousted Djokovic, but he could not repeat that against Murray, playing well in the opener before losing ground in set number two.
Andy served at 52%, getting broken two times while keeping his second serve safe. Murray grabbed four breaks, enough to seal the deal and celebrate the title. Andy tamed his shots more efficiently, hitting more winners and fewer unforced errors and having the upper hand in the shortest and mid-range rallies.
Bautista Agut stayed in touch in the longest points. Still, despite a great effort ahead of it, he failed to deliver his best tennis in the breaker, which was the pivotal moment of the encounter.
Andy Murray claimed the third title in Shanghai over Roberto Bautista Agut in 2016.
We saw six straight holds without any chance for returners at the beginning of the match.
Andy scored a break at 3-3 to move ahead after Roberto's backhand error. The Briton held after a service winner to increase his lead to 5-3, creating three set points on serve in the tenth game. Bautista Agut fended them off and broke back with a forehand winner to level the score at 5-5, prolonging the set and gaining a massive boost.
Carried by this momentum, Roberto fired another forehand winner in game 11 to move ahead, forcing Andy to serve to stay in the set. As a true champion, Murray fired four winners in game 12 to introduce a tie break. Andy grabbed seven straight points, clinching it with a return winner after a grueling 64 minutes.
Andy held in the second set's first game with an ace and broke Roberto at love in game two after the Spaniard's backhand error. Murray sprayed a forehand error at 2-0 to lose serve, regaining composure a few minutes later with another break after Bautista Agut's double fault to control the scoreboard.
The Briton moved 4-1 ahead with a service winner and clinched another break in game six to extend the gap. Murray moved over the top with a smash winner at 5-1, celebrating his third Shanghai crown.