Djokovic will play Stefanos Tsitsipas for the Madrid Open title after the 20-year-old Greek stunned Rafael Nadal to win a thrilling semi-final 6-4 2-6 6-3 on his fourth match point. Nadal had been a clear favourite to face Djokovic in the decider at Caja Magica but the 17-time grand slam champion extended his stuttering build-up to the French Open with another surprise defeat. It was the third straight semi-final elimination for Nadal, adding to his worst start to the clay swing since 2015. It’s the first time since 2004 he hasn’t made a clay final by this stage of the year. “I didn’t play a good match. I fought. The conditions at night were totally different compared to yesterday, despite the similar hour. More windy,” Nadal said. “It’s not been a good match. “It’s not been my best night. My opponent has been better, when that happens you lose. “It’s a lost chance. Tomorrow I won’t be here playing the final in front of this people.’ “I’ve won a lot on this surface. This here I’ve been close but I’m not winning. I have to accept it, which doesn’t meant I’m not trying to change it.” Tsitsipas’ stunning victory means he reaches his fourth ATP final of the season while fully vindicating those that have him circled as a future star of the men’s game. “Emotionally it was very tough, it was one of my toughest wins,” he said. It might be too early to expect the world No. 9 to challenge at Roland Garros later this month but, with a fearless style and formidable forehand, Tsitsipas is developing a habit for delivering on the big stage. In terms of career wins, this perhaps trails only his ousting of Roger Federer from the Australian Open in January, when he went on to reach the semi-finals for his best run yet at a grand slam. But, as well as Federer and Nadal, Tsitsipas has now beaten Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem, both twice, and Djokovic, whom he played on hard in Canada last year and prevailed in three sets. He will draw confidence from that result ahead of the final but arguably even more so from overcoming Nadal, on clay, which Djokovic had earlier described as the “ultimate challenge” following his own 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4) victory over Thiem. By his own high standards, Nadal’s clay-court swing has been disappointing. He lost in the last four in both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, arriving in Madrid without winning either tournament for the first time since 2015. French tennis writer Carole Bouchard raved about “crazy tennis alien” Tsitsipas, as did plenty of others Stefanos Tsitsipas, you crazy tennis alien! The mind, the game, the guts: he has it all. With this bit of « folie douce » we say in French that makes him quite fascinating. Nadal clearly not at his best out there but it still takes a wow of a performance to get him out. — Carole Bouchard (@carole_bouchard) May 11, 2019 Tremendous effort from E-Z-Pas taking out Vamos-Rafa incredibly high level he showed and great 👍 variety — Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) May 11, 2019 Stefanos Tsitsipas outright brilliant and impressive in a triumph over Rafael Nadal 64 26 63 in the #MMOpen SFs. He's growing in confidence with every week. Time we talk about him as a consistent contender -- no matter the surface or situation — Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) May 11, 2019 That was something! Stefanos Tsitisipas doesn't just win his first set against Rafael Nadal -- he defeats the King of Clay in three sets to reach the #MMOpen final. 6-4 2-6 6-3. Incredible step-up performance from the 20-year-old. — Chris Oddo (@TheFanChild) May 11, 2019 Tsitsipas now beat — Federer on hard (Grand Slam) — Djokovic on hard (Masters 1000) — Nadal on clay (Masters 1000) — Zverev on hard and clay (Masters 1000) — Thiem on hard and clay (ATP 500 and M1000) 20yo, not bad. — José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 11, 2019 Few would bet against Nadal claiming a 12th French Open success in Paris but the showings of Djokovic, and even Thiem, in Madrid suggest it is far from a foregone conclusion. Djokovic enhanced his credentials as perhaps the greatest threat by edging past Thiem, who took down Nadal en route to clinching the trophy in Barcelona last month and had also knocked out Federer in the Madrid quarter-finals. “I thought coming into the match, he was the favourite to win it,” Djokovic said. “So that’s why it’s a great win for me.” Since taking a month off after winning the Australian Open, Djokovic had also stuttered, enduring early exits in Indian Wells, Miami and then Monte Carlo. But Thiem found the 31-year-old close to his best, delivering a timely reminder of why he has won the last three grand slam titles and will hold all four concurrently by winning his 16th at the French Open. “It was a very important win for me against one of the best players in the world,” said Djokovic, a two-time champion in Madrid. “He’s getting back to his 100 per cent again,” Thiem said. “The closer it comes to the grand slams, the better he’ll play and we are pretty close to the French Open.” In the women’s final, Kiki Bertens beat two-time Madrid champion Simona Halep 6-4 6-4.<doc-sep>There is fire in the eyes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as they get closer to a grand slam and move into a different mental space, ready to suffer for their art. But there is another young lion with, “the look”: the 20-year-old Greek wonder Stefanos Tsitsipas. His stunning 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win here over Nadal, a five-times champion, was adorned in grit and passion, earning him a place in Sunday’s final against an opponent celebrating a total of 250 weeks as No1 in the world. Defeat here, after earlier struggles on his favoured clay, have suddenly cast doubt on 32-year-old Nadal’s chances of winning the French Open – previously considered a heresy. Djokovic, bidding to hold all four majors concurrently for a second time, will go to Roland Garros with a spring in his step if he can beat Tsitsipas, who must be exhausted after a hectic week. It is a measure of his gathering charisma and willingness to gamble on his talent that Nadal’s home crowd gave Tsitsipas polite encouragement in his many moments of heroics, although there was no doubting they wanted their own man to win. Nadal tried eye-bulgingly, fist-pumpingly to deliver for them in a tennis match that had all the energy of a world title fight but Tsitsipas countered the closing blows brutally. Nadal had dropped only one set all week – to Félix Auger-Aliassime – and was a firm favourite to be playing his 54th match against Djokovic in the final. However, he was broken three times in losing the first set and looked vulnerable. He then gave up only one point on his serve in the second set to level the match and it was the young contender who seemed spent. It was an astonishing turnaround by Nadal and there was more to come. Tsitsipas, behind in the serving cycle, had to save two break points straight away. He won a magnificent point at the end of a long rally in the next game to grab a couple of looks on Nadal’s serve but could not convert them. He pounced in the fifth game, though, moving Nadal around with power and angles for the break. Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic shake hands after their semi-final. Photograph: A Perez Meca/REX/Shutterstock A backhand for a double break and 5-2, followed by Nadal’s dumped volley, silenced Court Manolo Santana. Tsitsipas, who had been up until 4am after fulfilling a doubles commitment, had the verve of youth about him as he all but ran to the service line to finish the job. Nadal bullied his way to two break points and Tsitsipas hit long. There was room left yet, serving at 3-5, for the Mallorcan to deliver late drama. Tsitsipas got to match point; Nadal saved. Tsitsipas scorched the dirt with a crosscourt forehand for another chance. Nadal cashed in on a daring and difficult half-volley at the net for a second deuce point. But he clipped the net and again stared at the exit. An outrageous drop-shot kept him in the tournament. He butchered a backhand volley: match point number four – and one last weary shot did for him after two hours and 35 minutes. Tsitsipas went to his courtside chair and wept. Later he said it was “definitely the best match of my life”. It is rare to witness Nadal searching vainly for clues on clay. On Sunday it will be Djokovic’s turn to feel the heat of a player who knows no fear on a tennis court, whatever the surface. Djokovic, too, had to draw on all his controlled passion to dig himselfout of a few holes when beating Dominic Thiem, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) over two hours and 22 minutes in the first semi-final. “Coming into the match, I thought he was the favourite to win,” Djokovic said of the Austrian, who beat Federer on Friday and Nadal on his way to winning in Barcelona. “Next to Rafa he probably is the player who puts most spin and rotation on the ball. I knew that I need to be closer to the line and try to dictate the play, mix up the pace. If he has a lot of time, he is as good of a player as you can get on this surface. “It would be deserved if he would win the match. He was a break up in both sets. Maybe I should have closed it out when I was serving for it 6-5 but I got a little bit nervous and made some unforced errors. I wasn’t serving that well. But when I needed it in tie-break, I got it.” It was Djokovic’s first win against a top-10 opponent on the surface since 2017. In a women’s final that brought together two of the game’s most passionate players, Kiki Bertens’ tears switched from despair to joy when she beat the world No 3, Simona Halep, 6-4, 6-4, erasing the memories of falling to Petra Kvitova in a draining three-setter here a year ago. The Dutch player, who moves into the world’s top five for the first time, looked shattered when she went 3-1 down in the first set but she worked her way back into contention and was relieved to see Halep’s forehand float long on set point. Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands celebrates winning the women’s final 6-4, 6-4 against Romania’s Simona Halep. Photograph: Sergio Pérez/Reuters Bertens broke early in the second set, gave it straight back and broke again, each time Halep putting too much on her forehand as she strove for the lines. Halep, who had fought off a heavy cold most of the week, looked drained at the end but saved two match points before a Bertens drop-shot was just beyond her control. “I know I can beat a lot of girls,” said the beaming winner. “I can compete with the best of the world on clay.”<doc-sep>In the battle of the most promising youngsters on the Tour, the 8th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas took down the 3rd seed and defending champion Alexander Zverev 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in two hours and ten minutes for the second straight win over the German. The first came last year in Toronto when Stefanos played in the first Masters 1000 semi-final and this will be his second, passing Daniil Medvedev with 26 ATP wins to become the Tour leader in 2019. The Greek won four points more in an intense and high-quality clash, erasing four out of five break points to put the struggling German under pressure and prevailing with three breaks from eight opportunities to set the duel against Rafael Nadal or Stan Wawrinka. Zverev played incredible tennis here a year ago for one of the most dominant Masters 1000 runs, especially on clay, but he is miles from that level this year despite a solid effort here in Madrid, losing steam in the decider to drop a lot of points and leave the top-4 for the first time since November. Stefanos delivered easier holds in the first set and broke at love at 5-5 when Alexander netted an easy forehand. The Greek closed the opener with a hold in the next game after another error from the German who had to raise the level in the rest of the encounter to stand a chance of title defense. The second set offered seven good holds and some excellent points on both sides that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats before Zverev took charge, delivering one winner after another for 12 of the last 13 points and the set. Alexander broke at love in game eight and secured the set with a forehand crosscourt winner that gave him a massive momentum before the start of the decider. He had his chances there in the opening games, wasting three break points at 1-1 and hitting a double fault in the next game to hand the serve to Stefanos who clinched the triumph with another break in game eight for the place in the last four and one of his best results on clay.<doc-sep>
Rafael Nadal's slump on clay continued with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 loss to ninth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the semifinals of the Madrid Open on Saturday. It was the third straight semifinal elimination for Nadal, adding to his worst start to the clay swing since 2015. Tsitsipas will try to win his third title of the year in a final against top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who defeated Dominic Thiem 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) and will have a chance to tie Nadal for the most titles in Master 1000 tournaments with 33. Nadal, still seeking his first title of the season, had also failed to make it to the final in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, tournaments he had won the last three consecutive seasons. The 20-year-old Tsitsipas converted on his fourth match point to close out the victory against the second-ranked Nadal on the Magic Box centre court. Djokovic has chance to make history Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates a point against Dominic Thiem of Austria during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open on May 11, 2019 in Madrid. (Julian Finney/Getty Images) Djokovic, who won in Madrid in 2011 and 2016, had played only four sets in the Spanish capital this week ahead of the semifinals. He didn't play his quarterfinal match because Marin Cilic withdrew with food poisoning. Thiem got off to a good start by breaking Djokovic in the third game of the match, but the Serb quickly got back on serve and then cruised in the opening tiebreaker, dropping only two points. Thiem converted one of his many break opportunities to go 4-2 ahead in the second set, but again Djokovic quickly recovered, breaking back in the following game. The two exchanged two more breaks late in the set, and Djokovic eventually prevailed in the deciding tiebreaker. "Dominic is one of the best tennis players in the world at this moment, especially on this surface, so this was a very big win for me," the top-ranked Djokovic said. The fifth-seeded Thiem, who beat Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, had won two straight against Djokovic and was trying to make his third straight Madrid final following losses to Rafael Nadal in 2017 and Alexander Zverev in 2018. The Austrian was also attempting to become the first player to win three titles this season, adding to triumphs in Indian Wells and Barcelona. "I thought he was the favourite coming into this match because of his win in Barcelona and the way he played winning against Roger yesterday," said Djokovic. It will be the second final of the season for Djokovic, who began the year by winning the Australian Open. "I was still kind of trying to find my best game on clay," Djokovic said. "These are exactly the matches that I need. I'm very, very pleased with this win." Bertens wins Kiki Bertens of Netherlands is congratulated by Simona Halep of Romania after the final during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open at La Caja Magica on May 11, 2019 in Madrid. (Julian Finney/Getty Images) In the women's final, last year's runner-up Kiki Bertens beat two-time Madrid champion Simona Halep 6-4, 6-4 for her second title of the year, adding to her victory in St. Petersburg, Russia. The seventh-ranked Dutch became the first woman to win the Madrid title without dropping a set. She had victories over three Grand Slam champions in the Spanish capital — Jelena Ostapenko, Sloane Stephens and Petra Kvitova. Bertens lost to Kvitova in last year's final. Halep, winner in Madrid in 2016 and 2017, lost the chance to take over the No. 1 ranking from Naomi Osaka.