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Patna : World No 9 and Next Gen ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, 20, Greece, upset World No 2 and five-time champion Rafael Nadal, 32, Spain, in the semi-finals of Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, on May 12, 2019, to enter the final of the clay court tournament. Tsitsipas beat Nadal in a three-set contest 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in the semi-final for his first victory over the Clay Court King in 4 meetings. Tsitsipas will face World No 1 and top seed Novak Djokovic in the final on May 12, 2019, at 10 pm.
Tsitsipas broke Nadal’s service 6 times in the match while the latter broke his service 5 times. Nadal won 5 games in a row in the match to 4 by Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas fired 4 Aces in the match to just 1 by Nadal. Nadal’s winning percentage on both his first and second serve ( 58% & 50%) was better than that of Tsitsipas (57% & 44%). Nadal also won 52 service points to 45 by Tsitsipas.
With his defeat in the semi-finals of Madrid Open, Nadal has lost three consecutive semi-finals on clay court in 2019. He had lost in the semi-finals of Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open in April 2019 and no longer looks invincible on clay courts. Nadal is yet to win a title in 2019.