Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati final

Andy Murray to face Novak Djokovice

Novak Djokovice

Britain's Andy Murray proved too strong for American Mardy Fish in the searing Cincinnati heat as he reached the final of the Masters 1000 event.

The Scot edged the first set and battled his way through a second set of six breaks to win 6-3 7-6 (10-8).

Murray will face world number one Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final.

The women's final will be between world number seven Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic, the world number 14 from Serbia.

Sharapova came from a set down to beat second seed Vera Zvonareva 2-6 6-3 6-3. The Russian is chasing her second title of the year, after winning in Rome in May.

Jankovic hasn't won a WTA Tour title since March 2010, and faced few problems in beating Andrea Petkovic of Germany 7-6 (7-4) 6-1.

Djokovic progressed, and improved his record for the year to 57 wins and one loss, after Tomas Berdych retired with a shoulder injury in their semi-final having dropped the first set.

Murray, 24, showed signs in the opening set of getting back to somewhere near his best as he became the first man this week to break the Fish serve in moving 3-1 clear, converting his fifth break point of the game

"I was struggling physically in the second set - it was hot but that's not an excuse," said Murray.

"My legs were feeling tired. It was the conditions. I need to get stronger. This is the first tough match I've played for five or six weeks. I need to get some more endurance in me before the US Open."

The final Grand Slam tournament of the year begins in New York on 29 August.