SHANGHAI-- It proved all too easy once again for Novak Djokovic as the world number one continued his frightening dominance of men's tennis by blitzing past Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win another Shanghai Masters title on Sunday.
  The Serbian, 10-times a grand slam champion, brushed aside the challenge of a befuddled Tsonga 6-1 6-4 to claim his third Shanghai Masters and ninth title of a standout year that has left him being spoken of among the sport's all-time greats.
  Djokovic won three grand slams this year, was runner-up at the French Open and since suffering a surprise quarter-final loss to Ivo Karlovic in Qatar in January has made the final of all 13 events he has played.
  The 30-year-old Tsonga had shown his serving prowess in taking out Rafa Nadal in three tight sets in the semi-finals on Saturday but against the imperious returning skills of Djokovic he had no answers.
  The 28-year-old Serb nullified Tsonga's most potent weapon to break his three opening service games and take a first set which the Frenchman played predominantly way behind the baseline.
  Things improved for Tsonga at the start of the second set where he worked hard to fight off break points and stay on serve through the opening eight games as the Serb sauntered through his own service.
  But the pressure proved too much, Djokovic pummelling balls to all angles with supreme court coverage at the expense of just eight unforced errors and he broke at the third attempt in the crucial ninth game and served out for victory.
  "Today the key was to get as many serves back into play to Jo because he has one of the biggest serves in the game," Djokovic told the ATP website (www.atpworldtour.com).
  "He has shown that in the second set, with some break points early in the set. He came up with some aces, some big serves."
  It was a second straight tournament Djokovic had won without dropping a set after he landed his sixth China Open title in Beijing last week. The Serb now boasts a 38-1 win loss record on the Chinese hardcourts.
  "Generally I felt always in control of the match. I felt like I've done everything right. I didn't allow him to get into the rhythm, get into the match," he said.
  Tsonga will be comforted by his strong showing in China, which helped move him up to ninth in the race to qualify for the eight man end-of-season ATP Tour Finals in London next month.
  "The first set went quick," Tsonga said. "It's not easy to stop him. He is really consistent on his return. Today I didn't serve well enough, especially in the first set.
  "After that, in the second, I served a little bit better, and it gave me the opportunity to have a chance on his serve. But finally I was not able to do it."
  The victory was Djokovic's 57th ATP Tour title, moving him within two of Nadal's mark of 27 Masters Series crowns and took his prize money for the year past a record $16 million.

CHINA-- Former world number one Rafa Nadal displayed more signs of a return to top form with a ruthless 6-2 6-1 hammering of Stan Wawrinka and was joined by Novak Djokovic in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals on Friday.
  World number one Djokovic, twice champion in Shanghai, was tested by Australian Bernard Tomic before winning 7-6(6) 6-1 to stay on course for a ninth title of the year having picked up his eighth last week in Beijing.
  "It was a very good first set," Djokovic told the ATP website (www.atpworldtour.com). "High quality tennis from both of us.
  "Obviously it was a huge relief for me to win the first set, and started off the second with a break. That gave me more confidence."
  Djokovic will face third seed Andy Murray, who barely broke a sweat in defeating Tomas Berdych 6-1 6-3, for a place in the final.
  Nadal, a winner of 14 grand slam titles, suffered a second-round defeat by Dustin Brown at Wimbledon and was ousted in the U.S. Open third round by Fabio Fognini but has enjoyed a resurgence since arriving in China.
  The 29-year-old Spaniard, seeded eighth in Shanghai, reached the final in Beijing last week and needed little more than an hour to breeze past French Open champion Wawrinka, who toiled for close to three hours late on Thursday to get past Marin Cilic.
  "Being in the semi-finals is a great result for me," said Nadal. "I hadn't played the semi-finals on hard court all year and now I am playing two weeks in a row in the final rounds.
  "That's a big improvement for me. In terms of confidence, in terms of level of tennis, I am playing better. Very happy for that because I am working so hard."
  Swiss Wawrinka, who had won his last two matches against Nadal, avoided the ignominy of suffering a bagel in the second set by claiming the sixth game after his opponent had raced to 5-0 on the back of a nine-game winning run.
  Nadal, hoping to grab one of the four remaining ATP World Tour Finals spots in London, will next meet Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a place in Sunday's title decider.
  Tsonga got the better of South Africa's Kevin Anderson in a gruelling 7-6(6) 5-7 6-4 match between two of the circuit's biggest hitters.
  The Frenchman saved three set points during the tiebreaker and secured an early break in the deciding set to carry him through to the last four.
  "It is a court that he likes to play on," Nadal said of Tsonga. "The court is quick. He feels comfortable on these surfaces because he has a huge serve, very, very good forehand.
  "He's a very competitive player. When he's in the semi-finals it's because he's playing well. So it will be a very tough match."

RAJKOT, India-- Opening batsman Quinton de Kock provided the early flourish with the bat with his seventh century while fast bowler Morne Morkel applied the finishing touch with four wickets as South Africa beat India by 18 runs on Sunday to take a 2-1 series lead.
  The 22-year-old de Kock continued his purple patch in ODIs against India, scoring his fourth century in seven innings against the opponents to set up South Africa's total of 270-7 in 50 overs after they chose to bat on winning the toss.
  The hosts lost opener Shikhar Dhawan (13) early to Morkel but looked well poised for a victory charge with half-centuries from Rohit Sharma (65) and Virat Kohli (77).
  Opening batsman Rohit and Kohli added 72 for the second wicket before the former fell to a smart return catch from part-time off-spinner JP Duminy.
  Kohli then added 80 for the next wicket with his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (47) to keep India in the hunt before Morkel returned to strike.
  The South African plan of bowling short at the batsmen's bodies while packing the leg side boundary with four fielders proved effective.
  After Dhoni failed to negotiate a short delivery from the tall Morkel, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane holed out deep on the mid-wicket fence on consecutive deliveries in the paceman's final over, which put paid to India's hopes of chasing down the total.
  India could only manage 252 for six in their 50 overs.
  Earlier, South Africa sent David Miller, who had scored 13 and nought in the series, to open the innings to help him regain form and the new opening pair gave the touring side the ideal start with a stand of 72.
  India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and leg-spinner Amit Mishra stemmed the flow of runs while bowling in tandem and gave away 79 runs between themselves in their 20 overs, picking up a wicket each.
  De Kock, who hit 11 fours and a six in his knock, added another 118 for the third wicket with Faf du Plessis (60) to set up a solid platform for South Africa for a late assault.
  Du Plessis lived a charmed life on his way to his third consecutive 50 in the series. Suresh Raina and Dhawan dropped him twice while the right-hander was also caught when on 16 but replays showed Mohit Sharma's delivery was a no-ball.
  His dismissal to Mohit sparked a mini-collapse and South Africa were suddenly reduced from 205-2 to 210-5 in the space of nine deliveries.
  South Africa captain Ab de Villiers and de Kock, who was run out by a direct throw from Dhawan, were the two other batsmen out during that period which robbed South Africa of momentum.
  The fourth match will be played in Chennai on Thursday.

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Willie Snead (83) runs after a catch while defended by Atlanta Falcons cornerback Robert Alford (23) in the first quarter of their game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Saints won 31-21. (Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports.)