British number one Kyle Edmund was beaten in the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals by fourth seed Alexander Zverev.
Germany's Zverev, the world number five, produced an impressive performance to win 6-4 6-4 in one hour 12 minutes in China.
Zverev took control by breaking Edmund's serve in the opening game of the match and earned the only other break midway through the second set.
He hit 12 unforced errors, compared with 25 from world number 14 Edmund.
The win sees Zverev become the fifth player to secure his place at the season-ending ATP Finals in London, joining Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro.