China Open 2014: Andy Murray Seals Semi-Final Showdown with Djokovic with Cilic Victory

Andy Murray will meet Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the China Open after easing past Marin Cilic in straight sets in Beijing.

The British number one sealed a clinical 6-1 6-4 victory over his Croatian opponent to seal a spot in the final four and significantly boost his chances of qualifying for November's ATP World Tour Finals in London.

World number nine Cilic is the highest-ranked opponent Murray has defeated since his Wimbledon success last year.

Murray dominated his opponent in the opening set, breaking his service game on three occasions before winning seven games in a row to get up and running.

Cilic provided sterner resistance in the second, forcing Murray to fight back from break point twice before the Scot took back control, earning three match points to take a 5-4 lead and sealing victory after the Croat could only find the net with a low volley.

Murray had already beaten Jerzy Janowicz and Pablo Cuevas in previous rounds to build on last week's Shenzhen Open success. The 27-year-old started this week sat in 10<sup>th place in the ATP rankings with the top eight qualifying for November's end-of-season competition at the O2 Arena.

Novak Djokovic meanwhile defeated Vasek Pospisil of Canada 6-3 7-5 as he battles to win his fifth China Open title.