Madrid Open 2019: Kiki Bertens Wins Women's Title; Men's Finals Schedule

Kiki Bertens beat Simona Halep in straight sets on Saturday to win the women's title at the 2019 Madrid Open. 

In the men's draw top seed Novak Djokovic will take on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final after both men came through their semi-final contests on Saturday.

The Serb edged two tiebreaks to see off Dominic Thiem in a tough encounter, while Tsitsipas ended Rafael Nadal's hopes in a three-set thriller.

The two players go on to meet in the final on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET. The full schedule is available from the Madrid Open's official website.

Saturday's Results

(7) Kiki Bertens bt. (3) Simona Halep 6-4, 6-4

(1) Novak Djokovic bt. (5) Dominic Thiem: 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4)

(8) Stefanos Tsitsipas bt. (2) Rafael Nadal: 6-2, 2-6, 6-3

Bertens vs. Halep

Bertens won the biggest title of her career so far in the Spanish capital on Saturday.

Her victory over Halep also means the Romanian misses the chance to overtake world No. 1 Naomi Osaka in the rankings.

Both players struggled to hold serve in the opening set, with Bertens breaking Halep five times on her way to winning the opener 6-4:

An early break followed for Bertens at the start of the second as she went on to complete a deserved win over the two-time champion:

Halep will still head into the French Open as one of the favourites despite her defeat, but Bertens has also shown she will also be in contention in Paris.

Djokovic vs. Thiem

Djokovic reached the final of the Madrid Open for the third time in his career, but he had to be at his best to see off a determined Thiem.

The Austrian took an early break in the opening set to lead 2-1 when Djokovic netted a forehand, only to see the top seed break back and level matters at 3-3.

Thiem had chances to break again at 4-4 but could not convert, as Djokovic went on to claim the first set on the tiebreak in 65 minutes with some impressive defensive play:

Thiem went on the attack at the start of the second and earned break points in Djokovic's first two service games but could not make them count.

Meanwhile, the Serb earned a time violation which did not appear to impress the crowd, as noted by Metro's George Bellshaw:

Thiem finally managed to make the breakthrough at 4-2, but Djokovic hit straight back and then broke again to lead 6-5 and serve for the match. 

However, the top seed wobbled with victory in sight and could not serve out the victory, allowing Thiem to force another tiebreak.

Yet Djokovic managed to regroup quickly and secured his place in the final after two hours and 24 minutes:

Christopher Clarey at the New York Times was impressed with his win:

The victory ends a run of two straight defeats for Djokovic against Thiem, and he looks to be in great form ahead of the start of the 2019 French Open.

Nadal vs. Tsitsipas

Tsitsipas got off to a great start against Nadal in windy conditions in Madrid, breaking the second seed in the first game of an opening set that lasted a full six minutes.

His lead did not last long as Nadal responded immediately, breaking back to love to make it 1-1 in a strong start to the match from both players.

Breaks of serve became a feature of the opening set, as noted by Bellshaw:

Yet it was Tsitsipas who managed to hold his nerve and his serve to clinch the opener 6-4 and take a set off Nadal for the first time in his career:

Nadal hit back in the second set to send the match into a decider despite Tsitsipas continuing to impress:

The Spaniard looked far stronger on serve and began to dominate from the back of the court. He broke to move 4-2 ahead, held to love and then broke Tsitsipas again to take the second set:

Nadal's momentum continued at the start of the third as he carved out two break points. However, Tsitsipas produced two big saves to secure a crucial hold and make it 1-1.

The Greek then went on to win two break points of his own after an epic 22-shot rally:

Yet again Nadal fought them off to hold serve and go 2-1 up, but he was made to pay on his next service game as Tsitsipas gained a decisive break at 3-2.

The 20-year-old was then forced to work extremely hard to hold serve:

Tsitsipas then produced two brilliant backhand winners to produce another break point, and he converted when Nadal made a mess of a volley to move within a game of victory.

Nadal did manage to pull one break back and make Tsitsipas work hard for the win, saving three match points before eventually beating beaten.

It is an impressive victory for Tsitsipas who heads into his second ATP Masters 1000 final, while Nadal has now tasted defeat in the semi-finals of all three clay court tournaments he has played in so far in 2019.