Bautista Agut beat world number one Djokovic in the semi-final on Saturday but was brought back down to earth by three-times grand slam champion Murray, who converted all his four break points to wrap up the match in one hour 37 minutes.

Bautista Agut had beaten Djokovic in the semi-finals of that tournament and that has helped second-placed Murray to cut the gap to the Serbian in the latest world rankings, which were released on Monday.

"I need to keep myself motivated and be smart with my schedule and my time off, as well". "I may never get another chance to be No. 1, so I'll give it my best shot to do that while I have the opportunity". "These last few months have proved that to me", he added.

"I have a chance now", an increasingly hopeful Murray said after beating Bautista Agut. However, the plus-minus aspect of the rankings is what can't be ignored, and I think it is what is ignored by the casual tennis fans that just glances quickly at the rankings. He can, however, take the number 1 ranking earlier than expected.

Murray steadied himself and delivered a love game to take the first set to a tie-break, which he cruised through 7-1.

The Briton slammed three consecutive aces for 6-6 and he dominated the tie-break, reeling off seven points in a row and taking the set with a sizzling backhand return.

Those within a thousand of Thiem include Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, David Goffin and Bautista Agut, whose appearance in the Shanghai final was his first in a Masters tournament.

Murray's win on Sunday was also his tour-best 65th of the season and gave him his 41st career title as he continues to climb towards the top 10 on the all-time list.

Of greater concern will be his place in the rankings as he draws ever closer to the imploding Djokovic, who has hit a rocky patch after a period of sustained dominance. "And right now I just want to finish these next few tournaments this year as best as I can". I still have to win three more tournaments. At the start of the year, Novak won Doha, the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, the French Open, Madrid and the finals in Rome.

Murray admitted he found the going tough against Simon, despite winning his 10th straight match without dropping a set. "He's extremely quick around the court, he changes direction extremely well and its sometimes hard to get the balance - whether to go for your shots or play possum and slow it down a bit".

Peng, 30, had defeated Montenegro's Danka Kovinic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to make it to the finals. Thus, if Murray were to win the titles in Vienna and Paris and Djokovic was to fall before the final in the French capital the Scot would be the new world No. 1 heading to London fort the season-ending championship.

Dressed all in green, a determined Wozniacki finally sealed victory in the third set as a exhausted Mladenovic was ultimately unable to match the Dane's power and consistency.

Former world No1 Caroline Wozniacki captured her 25th Tour title when she beat unseeded Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 to claim the singles crown.