Tsitsipas, 20, had never won a set in his previous three meetings against claycourt specialist and 11-times French Open champion Nadal, but the Greek drew first blood by saving a break point to hold in the 10th game and take the first set. ATP Belgrade Djokovic overcomes lapse to book spot in Belgrade final 11 MINUTES AGO Nadal, who had breezed past the youngster in the Barcelona Open final last season and this year's Australian Open semi-finals, won the second set and looked to have the physical edge over his opponent, who has also been playing doubles in Madrid. But Tsitsipas, the Next Gen ATP finals champion, came back stronger in the decider with impressive court coverage and broke Nadal to take a 5-2 lead although he could not immediately serve out for the match. He earned repeated match points in the next game when Nadal was serving and after the Spaniard had dug deep to save three of them he could only find the net on the fourth. Tsitsipas dropped his racket and put his hands to his face to savour his first victory over the titan of claycourt tennis, completing a clean sweep of wins over Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer in less than 10 months. Nadal, meanwhile, was left reflecting on a third straight semi-final exit on clay after losing to Fabio Fognini in the Monte Carlo Masters and Dominic Thiem in the Barcelona Open. Roland-Garros After mixed clay season, can Djokovic really 'peak' in Paris? A DAY AGO<doc-sep>Rafael Nadal lost his 3rd consecutive semifinal on clay in Madrid to remain titleless in 2019. The Spanish sensation was defeated by an extremely sharp Stefanos Tsitsipas that found the solution against King of Clay after losing to him 3 times without winning a singles set. I wouldn’t have lost to him if…NADAL Rafa was visibly upset after the semifinal. When asked about the improvements of Stefanos’ tennis, The Spaniard took “the full blame” for his loss and comment “Being honest, my feeling is that it was more about me tonight. He is young, he is improving, and he has good talent. But I don’t see myself losing that match if I play the same level that I played in Barcelona final [2018] or Australia at the beginning of the season. That’s my feeling. That’s my truth, maybe it’s not the truth, but that is my feeling. I have not played well enough. I’ve won a lot for many years on this surface, but this year it hasn’t been like that. I didn’t have a good feeling today to do the things I wanted to do, and that’s all. I was clear what I had to do today, but tonight I wasn’t capable of doing it.” Nadal like Zverev Unfortunately, Stefanos had to stomach a similar comment from Sascha Zverev when he defeated him in the quarters in Toronto. At that time the German said that the Greek didn’t even play well. Probably both forgot that tennis is a game with two players and the outcome depends on both.<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>Published 05/11/2019, 4:42 PM PDT The Caja Magica in Madrid resonated with ‘Vamos Rafa’ jingles in the Saturday’s night session, but it was the 20-year-old Greek, Stefanos Tsitsipas who blew out the ‘King of Clay’, Rafael Nadal in his home ground. He defeated Rafa 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 at the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open 2019. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Now, the World Number nine, Tsitsipas has unlocked his victories against the ‘Big Three’ of tennis as he has now defeated, Novak Djokovic in Canada, Roger Federer in Australia and Rafael Nadal in his home country. In the Madrid Open finals, Tsitsipas will face the World Number one, Novak Djokovic. Rafael Nadal The Spaniard, Rafa felt the atmospheric conditions hindered his play in today’s match. “It’s not been a good match,” Rafael Nadal said.“I fought and did a couple of good things mentally. I trained around 5 pm & it was very hot but it was more windy, colder. I felt the ball better yesterday. It’s not been my best night. My opponent has been better when that happens you lose.” ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Rafael Nadal has accepted his loss with sanguinity and he is pragmatic with such oscillations in life. And he also believes that his insane dominance on the sludge was probably a fantasy world. “What happened tonight is what happens in real life. What happened in the last 14 years on clay is not the normality,” Rafa added. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad The second seed in Madrid is unhappy with his tonight’s performance, Rafael Nadal believes his game was not up to the mark. “My feeling is that it was more about me.” He continued. “That’s my truth, maybe not the truth, but mine. I don’t think I would lose the match if I played like Barcelona 2018 or Australia this year.” Stefanos Tsitsipas defeats Rafael Nadal in Madrid Later, Rafael Nadal bantered Tsitsipas.“I wouldn’t want to play with Tsitsipas as a junior without an umpire because he doesn’t know the difference between a ball in and a ball out. I’m joking (Nadal laughed)”, Rafa mentioned. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad The Spanish World Number two, Nadal had a disappointing tenure on the ATP circuit, since his Australian Open 2019 final loss. His clay season continues to be melancholic as he trounces in the semifinals of all the three clay contests that he played. And the 17-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal is yet to collect a title in the tennis season 2019.<doc-sep>
Eighth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas notched a big upset of second-seeded Rafael Nadal on clay Saturday to reach the championship match of the Mutua Madrid Open. The rising Greek star's 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Nadal was his 10th career win against a Top 10 player. Tsitsipas, who had five aces, will face top-seeded Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final. Djokovic recorded a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) over fifth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem in the other semifinal. Djokovic will be looking for his third title in Madrid. He defeated Nadal in 2011 and Andy Murray in 2016. Tsitsipas will be looking for his second consecutive title as he won the Estoril Open in Portugal last week. The 20-year-old controlled play against the "King of Clay" in his impressive victory in two hours, 34 minutes. Tsitsipas had lost all seven sets over his three previous meetings with Nadal. "I'm really happy that I proved myself today," Tsitsipas said afterward. "I played one of my best games this year. I'm really happy that I'm fighting and I'm in the zone. It's really nice to be able to play this way. "Today's victory is just an unbelievable feeling. I can't really explain it further." Tsitsipas won the first set before Nadal turned things around in the second. Nadal got the home-country fans in Spain riled up and rode the momentum to a 6-2 win. But Tsitsipas regained control in the third set. Nadal put up a valiant fight to remain in the match in the final game, but two errors sabotaged his attempt. When a shot by Nadal sailed into the net to end his bid for a sixth Madrid Open title, Tsitsipas dropped his racket and seemed momentarily stunned at his accomplishment. "I didn't have a good feeling today to do the things I wanted to do and that's all," Nadal said. "I was clear what I had to do today, but tonight I wasn't capable of doing it." Djokovic finished his straight-set win over Thiem in two hours, 22 minutes. He saved seven of 10 break points. Story continues He also had a first serve taken away after committing his second and third time violations of the match. Not much of a problem, however, as Djokovic responded on one of the occasions by hitting his second serve for an ace. "It's also OK to take away the first serve from the player if he exceeds the time," Thiem said after the match. "I think that's completely fine. One time, he hit me with an ace with the second serve, unbelievable, so that was also not going all my own way." Djokovic didn't allow himself to be bothered by the violations. He felt it was more important to keep his focus. "It was also a physical match so I took a bit more time between the points, especially in the important moments," Djokovic said. "Nerves kick in. I know I bounce the ball a lot. And I didn't complain for most of those warnings that I got because I know I went over the allowed time." --Field Level Media