2019 Madrid Open Men's Singles SF's - Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Rafael Nadal,reach the final Saturday 11,2019

Rafael Nadal's bid for a sixth Madrid Open is over after he was beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-final

Greek 20-year-old Tsitsipas, the eighth seed, came through 6-4 2-6 6-3 in a thrilling encounter.

He will play top seed Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final after the Serb earlier overcame Austrian Dominic Thiem 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4)

Nadal's defeat on the Madrid clay comes just two weeks before he bids for a 12th French Open title in Paris.

Tsitsipas, one of the most exciting young players in the game, beat Roger Federer at this year's Australian Open and, though he had never beaten Nadal, produced a brilliant performance to see off the Spaniard on his favourite surface.

Nadal's defeat was his third straight semi-final exit on clay after losing to Fabio Fognini in the Monte Carlo Masters and Thiem in the Barcelona Open.