MADRID — A year ago, Stefanos Tsitsipas was still a teenager and still playing in the qualifying tournaments of some of the most prestigious events on clay. But he has come a long way in a short time, often a mark of tennis greatness. Late Saturday night with the crowd and the odds very much against him, Tsitsipas reaffirmed his rapid rise by surprising Rafael Nadal, the most successful clay-court player in history. His 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Nadal in the semifinals of the Madrid Open earned Tsitsipas a spot in Sunday’s final against Novak Djokovic, the world’s top-ranked player. In the women’s final, Kiki Bertens won the biggest singles title of her career by defeating Simona Halep, 6-4, 6-4. A victory would have allowed the third-ranked Halep to return to No. 1 next week, displacing Naomi Osaka. Instead Bertens — with her improved serve, defense and variety — will reach a ranking milestone.<doc-sep>Quality Sport Images/Getty Images Kiki Bertens beat Simona Halep in straight sets on Saturday to win the women's title at the 2019 Madrid Open. In the men's draw top seed Novak Djokovic will take on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final after both men came through their semi-final contests on Saturday. The Serb edged two tiebreaks to see off Dominic Thiem in a tough encounter, while Tsitsipas ended Rafael Nadal's hopes in a three-set thriller. The two players go on to meet in the final on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET. The full schedule is available from the Madrid Open's official website. Saturday's Results (7) Kiki Bertens bt. (3) Simona Halep 6-4, 6-4 (1) Novak Djokovic bt. (5) Dominic Thiem: 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) (8) Stefanos Tsitsipas bt. (2) Rafael Nadal: 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 Video Play Button Videos you might like Bertens vs. Halep Bertens won the biggest title of her career so far in the Spanish capital on Saturday. Her victory over Halep also means the Romanian misses the chance to overtake world No. 1 Naomi Osaka in the rankings. Both players struggled to hold serve in the opening set, with Bertens breaking Halep five times on her way to winning the opener 6-4: An early break followed for Bertens at the start of the second as she went on to complete a deserved win over the two-time champion: Halep will still head into the French Open as one of the favourites despite her defeat, but Bertens has also shown she will also be in contention in Paris. Djokovic vs. Thiem Djokovic reached the final of the Madrid Open for the third time in his career, but he had to be at his best to see off a determined Thiem. The Austrian took an early break in the opening set to lead 2-1 when Djokovic netted a forehand, only to see the top seed break back and level matters at 3-3. Thiem had chances to break again at 4-4 but could not convert, as Djokovic went on to claim the first set on the tiebreak in 65 minutes with some impressive defensive play: Thiem went on the attack at the start of the second and earned break points in Djokovic's first two service games but could not make them count. Meanwhile, the Serb earned a time violation which did not appear to impress the crowd, as noted by Metro's George Bellshaw: Thiem finally managed to make the breakthrough at 4-2, but Djokovic hit straight back and then broke again to lead 6-5 and serve for the match. However, the top seed wobbled with victory in sight and could not serve out the victory, allowing Thiem to force another tiebreak. Yet Djokovic managed to regroup quickly and secured his place in the final after two hours and 24 minutes: Christopher Clarey at the New York Times was impressed with his win: The victory ends a run of two straight defeats for Djokovic against Thiem, and he looks to be in great form ahead of the start of the 2019 French Open. Nadal vs. Tsitsipas Tsitsipas got off to a great start against Nadal in windy conditions in Madrid, breaking the second seed in the first game of an opening set that lasted a full six minutes. His lead did not last long as Nadal responded immediately, breaking back to love to make it 1-1 in a strong start to the match from both players. Breaks of serve became a feature of the opening set, as noted by Bellshaw: Yet it was Tsitsipas who managed to hold his nerve and his serve to clinch the opener 6-4 and take a set off Nadal for the first time in his career: Nadal hit back in the second set to send the match into a decider despite Tsitsipas continuing to impress: The Spaniard looked far stronger on serve and began to dominate from the back of the court. He broke to move 4-2 ahead, held to love and then broke Tsitsipas again to take the second set: Nadal's momentum continued at the start of the third as he carved out two break points. However, Tsitsipas produced two big saves to secure a crucial hold and make it 1-1. The Greek then went on to win two break points of his own after an epic 22-shot rally: Yet again Nadal fought them off to hold serve and go 2-1 up, but he was made to pay on his next service game as Tsitsipas gained a decisive break at 3-2. The 20-year-old was then forced to work extremely hard to hold serve: Tsitsipas then produced two brilliant backhand winners to produce another break point, and he converted when Nadal made a mess of a volley to move within a game of victory. Nadal did manage to pull one break back and make Tsitsipas work hard for the win, saving three match points before eventually beating beaten. It is an impressive victory for Tsitsipas who heads into his second ATP Masters 1000 final, while Nadal has now tasted defeat in the semi-finals of all three clay court tournaments he has played in so far in 2019.<doc-sep>Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas will compete in the 2019 Mutua Madrid Open final, the fifth ATP Masters 1000 of the season. Both reached this final with a strong and clear path, especially after the victories in the semi-finals against Dominic Thiem, and Rafael Nadal respectively. The Serb reached the final (his 33rd in an ATP Masters 1000) defeating Taylor Fritz, Jeremy Chardy and Marin Cilic apart from Thiem, not losing a set during the matches played. The Greek reached his second final in an ATP Masters 1000, beating rivals such as Adrian Mannarino, Fernando Verdasco, and Alexander Zverev, aside from Nadal. It will be a very interesting final to watch, which represents a real challenge between the Old Generation and the Next Generation. Djokovic's experience and solidity and his greater aptitude on clay courts could be the discriminating factor that makes him the favorite for the final victory. Tsitsipas will have to put on the court all the light-heartedness and freshness of his 21 years, trying to play without pressure and with solidity, showing that he can play well even on clay courts. They have played once before; last year at the Rogers Cup, Tsitsipas defeated Djokovic in a memorable match lasting three sets, which revealed all the talent (already known by insiders, media and fans) of the Greek to the world. In this season, Djokovic has already played and won the Australian Open final (his 15th Slam title, for a total of 73 career title won in 106 finals played). For Tsitsipas this is the fourth final of the season after the two victories in Marseille and Estoril, respectively against Mikhail Kukushkin and Pablo Cuevas, and the defeat in Dubai against Roger Federer. ATP Mutua Madrid Open 2019 final - Percentages: Novak Djokovic 55% Stefanos Tsitsipas 45%<doc-sep>Bernat Armangue/Associated Press Roger Federer failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2019 Madrid Open after Dominic Thiem beat him in three sets on Friday. The Austrian will face Novak Djokovic for a place in the final, while Rafael Nadal takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic earned a walkover win over Marin Cilic, who was forced to pull out of the match due to illness: Federer and Dominic Thiem served up a great contest between in-form stars, setting the tone for a great day of tennis. Tsitsipas beat Alexander Zverev in three sets, before Nadal easily handled Stanislas Wawrinka, in what was described as the best quarter-final lineup of the season: In the women's draw, Simona Halep beat Belinda Bencic to book her place in the final. She'll face Kiki Bertens, who beat Sloane Stephens. Here are the results from Friday. Video Play Button Videos you might like Men's Quarter-Finals (1) Novak Djokovic beats (9) Marin Cilic: Walkover (5) Dominic Thiem beats (4) Roger Federer: 3-6, 7-6 (11), 6-4 (2) Rafael Nadal beats Stanislas Wawrinka: 6-1, 6-2 (8) Stefanos Tsitsipas beats (3) Alexander Zverev: 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 Women's Semi-Finals (3) Simona Halep beats Belinda Bencic: 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-0 (7) Kiki Bertens beats (8) Sloane Stephens: 6-2, 7-5 Full results can be found at the tournament's official website, along with the schedule. While the fans who secured a ticket for the incredible set of men's quarter-finals will have been disappointed to miss out on the clash between Djokovic and Cilic, Federer and Thiem soon made them forget all about that. Per Tennis TV, the duo carried excellent form into their contest: Thiem has become a clay specialist in the past few seasons, doing plenty of damage with his power from the baseline, and Federer came up with a tactical plan to counter the Austrian's advantage in the rallies. The 37-year-old played ultra-aggressive, abandoning the slow buildup play usually seen on clay in favour of a style more typically suited to hard courts. He also relied heavily on his serve: It led to a dominant first set, in which Thiem found no answer for the veteran's aggressive play, but the 25-year-old made the necessary adjustments at the start of the second set. The two were evenly matched during the set and throughout an epic tiebreak, and Thiem fought his way out of a hole and faced two match points before tying things up. By the third set, he had figured out how to deal with Federer's aggressive tactics, winning to line up a semi-final against Djokovic. Nadal cruised through his quarter-final contest, losing just three games to Wawrinka. The Spaniard seems to be rounding into form at the right time: The French Open, the highlight of the clay season, will start on May 26. Thiem shocked Nadal in Barcelona, knocking the King of Clay out in two sets, but the 32-year-old has only improved since. In the women's draw, 22-year-old Bencic gave Halep a slight scare in the second set before the latter powered through her opponent in the final set. The two provided several highlights, with this rally standing out: Halep is a two-time winner in Madrid and will seek her first title since 2017.<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.