Halep's first loss at Madrid Open in three years
Defending champion Simona Halep lost her first match at the Madrid Open in three years yesterday as Karolina Pliskova produced an inspired performance to reach the semi-finals.
Halep had won the title both in 2016 and 2017 but the world No. 1 struggled to impose her baseline game against the power of Pliskova, who won 6-4, 6-3.
Pliskova will now face either two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova or Russian rising star Daria Kasatkina for a place in tomorrow's final.
Halep will still be among the favourites later this month at the French Open, but 26 unforced errors marked her error-strewn display.
That should take nothing away from Pliskova, whose demon serve and blistering power can take the racket from the hand of any opponent.
After beating Jelena Ostapenko, Anett Kontaveit and Coco Vandeweghe on her way to winning the Stuttgart title a fortnight ago, Pliskova, the sixth seed, is now the highest ranked player left in the draw.
The Czech's latest victory also had a family flavour, given that Halep had knocked out Pliskova's twin sister Kristyna in the previous round.
A driving forehand down the line clinched the decisive break midway through the first set.
There were two more breaks in the second set, the latter confirming Pliskova's comfortable victory as a weary Halep backhand hit the net.
Meanwhile, Holland's Kiki Bertens defeated Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 last night to set up a semi-final date with Caroline Garcia. - AFP
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