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SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic exacted revenge on Andy Murray for his U.S. Open final defeat by saving five match points to outlast the Briton 5-7 7-6 6-3 to win the Shanghai Masters title on Sunday.

The resilient Serbian fought back from the brink of defeat, trailing by a set and 5-3 before staving four match points in the tiebreak to force a tense decider.

The world number two then broke Murray, winner in Shanghai for the last two years, in the seventh game and again at 5-3, prevailing on his third match point to triumph when his opponent went long.

Djokovic had lost to Murray in their last two meetings, the U.S. Open final at Flushing Meadows in September in which the Scot secured his first grand-slam triumph, and the semi-finals of the Olympics in London.

"It was a thrilling match...very long - 3 1/2 hrs for best of three is quite long. But I have got used to it," Djokovic said.

"Whenever I play Andy I know it's going to be a gruelling fight, a lot of long rallies. It could have gone either way.

"I could not say I dominated the match because all three sets were very close and he had some match points and opportunities to finish the match. I could have easily been a runner-up today but I'm very proud of my fight."

An extraordinary topsy-turvy first set featured seven breaks, both players gaining an advantage before handing it straight back.

Djokovic led 2-0, world number three Murray 3-2 and Djokovic again at 5-4.

The decisive moment came when Djokovic went wide with a forehand volley to be broken for the fourth time and hand Murray a 6-5 lead.

His emotions boiling over, the angry Serb obliterated his racket with three hefty smashes before tossing it towards his chair, receiving a warning in the process.

Murray appeared to have another Shanghai title at his mercy when Djokovic fluffed his lines again and was staring at defeat at 5-3 down in the second set.

The Scot had match point on his own serve at 5-4 but a battling Djokovic dug deep, averted the danger and then seized his own chance to break back for 5-5.

Like the first set, a pulsating tiebreak swung back and forth with Djokovic staving off four match points, including two at 6-4 down.

He then spurned three set points himself before finally prevailing 13-11, taking the set with a driving forehand volley.

Murray had outlasted Djokovic at the U.S. Open in a five-set thriller, but fortunes were reversed this time in the Chinese port city with the Serb finding the greater stamina and willpower.

Sensing that his opponent was tiring, Djokovic broke to lead 4-3 in the decider, consolidated on his own serve and broke again to secure his fifth title of the season. He now leads Murray 9-7 in their head-to-head meetings.

"It was a disappointing one to lose but I've lost tougher matches than that before, in the biggest events, so I'm sure I'll recover from it pretty well," Murray said.

(Writing by Justin Palmer in London, Editing by Clare Fallon and Pritha Sarkar)

The Serbian world number two fought back from the dead to beat the Scot 5-7 7-6(11) 6-3 and prevent Murray from winning the title for a third successive season.

Murray served for the match in the second set, earning a match point as he did so, and had four more chances to close out the match in the 24-minute tie-break that followed.

But it was Djokovic who came through, growing stronger throughout as Murray appeared increasingly tired, the Serb avenging his defeats by the Scot in both the Olympics and the US Open this summer.

In the early stages the Scot took charge of the match as he came out on top of a thrilling and wildly fluctuating first set that saw seven breaks of serve.

The last of those proved most telling as Djokovic lost the 11th game of the set from 40-0 ahead - prompting the Serb to smash his racquet to pieces on the court - before Murray served out for the set.

With both players somehow finding their timing on serve between the sets the match then became a much cagier affair.

But it was Murray who grabbed the first break opportunity as Djokovic lost concentration while serving at 3-3, gifting Murray two break points.

The world number three grabbed the opportunity at the first time of asking, and as the rest of the set right up until the point that he stood at match point, at 40-30 and 5-4 ahead.

Yet Djokovic was not done: he saved the match point by hitting a wonderful shot between his legs before charging the net to force deuce with a dreamlike drop shot, earned a break point with a winner into the corner on the next point and was then the beneficiary as Murray blasted a simple forehand long with the court at his mercy.

The set then headed for a tie-break which proved to be just as epic as their tie-break at the US Open last month. Both players had several chances to win it, and each missed shots under pressure to let the set out of their grasp, but it was Djokovic who held his nerve to win it 13-11.

This time it was Murray's turn to destroy a racquet in bitter frustration, an understandable release of tension having seen five match points slip through his fingers.

The anger of the world number three did not help him, however, with Djokovic forcing him to deuce on each of his first three service games in the final set.

And the breakthrough came in the seventh game as Murray slipped 15-40 down tired, sloppy fashion as he hit three successive shots long under no pressure at all, before conceding the break by netting with a simple forehand on the very next point.

That left Djokovic in control of both set and match, and after holding serve he then broke a tired-looking Murray once again to bring the three hour 20 minute match to a close.