Denis Shapovalov Becomes Youngest Madrid Open Semi-Finalist

Canada's Denis Shapovalov on Friday became the youngest player to reach the Madrid Open semi-finals with a 7-5, 6-7 (6/8) 6-4 win over Britain's Kyle Edmund. The 19-year-old Shapovalov, regarded as one of the brightest stars on the ATP Tour and ranked at 43 in the world, fired 29 winners past Edmund, a surprise semi-finalist at the Australian Open in January. Shapovalov, who had never won a clay-court match on the main tour before Madrid, will be playing in his second Masters semi-final where he will on Saturday face either John Isner or Alexander Zverev.

Petra Kvitova In Madrid Open Final

Two-time champion Petra Kvitova reached the Madrid Open final once again on Friday with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win over Czech compatriot Karolina Pliskova.

Kvitova, the 2011 and 2015 champion in the Spanish capital, also stretched her current winning run to 10 matches.

The left-handed 10th seed will face Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, who knocked out Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 6-2, in Saturday's final.

Rafael Nadal's Dream Clay-Court Run Ends

Rafael Nadal suffered his first clay-court defeat in almost a year when the world number one was shocked 7-5, 6-3 by Austria's Dominic Thiem in the Madrid Masters quarter-finals on Friday.

Defending champion Nadal, who came into the tournament having won both Monte Carlo and Barcelona for an 11th time, also saw his record 50-set winning streak on clay ended by the fifth-seeded Thiem.

Thiem, the runner-up to the great Spaniard in the 2017 Madrid final, had been the last player to defeat Nadal on clay at the 2017 Italian Open in Rome -- 357 days ago.

The shock result on Friday also means that Roger Federer will reclaim the world number one ranking on Monday.