American John Isner won the battle of the big servers as he defeated Kevin Anderson in three sets at the Shanghai Masters.

Each set went to a tie-break as neither player was able to break serve during the match, but it was Isner who prevailed 7-6 6-7 7-6.

In a first set where there were no break points and only 13 points won against serve, Isner took the tie-break 7-3 to take a one-set lead.

The second set saw both players create break points but they were unable to capitalise, and after a tight second tie-break, Anderson emerged on top with a backhand down the line to take it 9-7.

The final set followed the same pattern as both players failed to break serve as the match was decided by a final set tie-break.

Anderson earned a mini-break to lead 4-3 and he capitalised to earn two match points at 6-4 when Isner netted a forehand.

However, Isner fought back to save both match points and create one of his own at 8-7, and he sealed victory when Anderson went long with a forehand from the baseline.