Alexander Zverev recorded the biggest win on clay of his career as he stunned Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open.
Nadal, a five-time champion at this event, was a break up in the first set of his 15th quarter-final at Caja Magica but lost 6-4 6-4 in an hour and 44 minutes.
Zverev had won the previous two meetings with Nadal, both on indoor hard courts, after losing five consecutive matches against the 20-time major champion including a 6-1 6-1 rout in Monte Carlo in their first clay contest four years ago.
The world number six has five clay-court titles to his name, including this event in 2018, but defeating 13-time French Open champion Nadal on his favourite surface in front of a home crowd ranks among Zverev's finest achievements.
It looked as though Nadal was assuming control when he broke to love to lead 4-2 in the first set, but Zverev responded with a break back at the first time of asking.
The German had spoken of the Madrid courts playing faster than other clay events and the conditions certainly seemed to suit his fearless approach as Nadal struggled to deal with his crosscourt backhand.
He won the next three games to clinch a first set in which he lost just four of 16 points behind his first serve.
While Zverev looked increasingly confident, mixing up his shot depth and frequently coming to the net, Nadal cut an unusually frustrated figure even as he showed customary battling qualities to ward off a break point at 1-1.
However, more powerful hitting from Zverev saw him break to lead 4-2, and although he missed two chances for a double break, he closed out the match with minimal fuss.
"Definitely one of the biggest wins of my career," Zverev, who will face Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals, told Amazon Prime Sport. "Beating Rafa on clay is one of the toughest things to do in our sport."
Zheng sets up Sabalenka meeting after reaching first WTA 1000 final in Wuhan
Zheng Qinwen is through to the Wuhan Open final after a straight-sets win over Wang Xinyu.
In a historic, first-ever all-Chinese semi-final at a WTA 1000 event, Zheng reached her first such final, prevailing 6-3 6-4.
There was little to separate the two in the opening exchanges – just as Zheng edged in front with the first break in the fourth game, Wang responded, levelling the scores back at 3-3.
However, Zheng rallied, successfully defending a break point on her way to winning the last three games in a row to take the first set.
Wang faced 12 break points throughout the match, but failed to defend one in the second-set opener, before protecting three as she took a 2-1 lead.
Despite her fight, the Olympic gold medallist dug deep once more, getting two back-to-back breaks in order to clinch clinching the match.
She will face Aryna Sabalenka, who has never lost a match in Wuhan, in the final on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Home favourite
It has been a banner year for Zheng, who is also still in with a chance of qualifying for the WTA finals. Including the Olympics, she has reached the final of four events during 2024, the most she has managed during a single season.
Only Qiang Wang and Shuai Peng (four each) have made more WTA level finals on Chinese soil than Zheng (three, Zhengzhou and Zhuhai in 2023 and Wuhan in 2024) among Chinese players in the Open Era.
In fact, Zheng is just the second Chinese player to reach the final of a WTA 1000 event since the introduction of the format in 2009, after Li Na.
Djokovic overcomes injury scare to set up Sinner final in Shanghai
Novak Djokovic is just one game away from securing a 100th Tour-level title after reaching the Shanghai Masters final with a straight-sets triumph over Taylor Fritz.
Djokovic needed a medical timeout deep into the second set, but was able to hold on to secure a 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory to set up an encounter with Jannik Sinner in the final.
The Serbian missed three break points in the opening game, but was able to get his nose in front in the fifth game after breaking the American's serve.
Djokovic held his serve for the remainder to gain the early advantage, moving within touching distance of a record-extending 59th Masters 1000 final and his first of 2024.
But Fritz responded well in the second set, despite Djokovic producing some stunning tennis that included a brilliant backhand winner in the fifth game which drew applause from his American opponent.
The pair continued to trade blows, with a tie-break deciding whether the game would go the distance or Djokovic would reach a record fifth final in Shanghai.
And Djokovic held his nerve, fighting back from 5-3 down to seal his progression to Sunday's showpiece, becoming the 13th different ATP Masters 1000 finalist so far this year.
Data Debrief: Djokovic one away from history
With a fifth final at the Shanghai Masters, surpassing Andy Murray (four) for the outright most at the event, Djokovic has now reached five or more finals at each of the current ATP Masters 1000 events on hard court.
Fritz is now the sixth opponent Djokovic has defeated in each of their opening 10 head-to-head meetings at ATP level, along with Andreas Seppi, Gael Monfils, Jeremy Chardy, Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic.
Only Jimmy Connors (164), Roger Federer (157) and Ivan Lendl (146) in the Open Era have reached more ATP event finals than the Serbian (141).
Sabalenka reaches third straight Wuhan final with comeback Gauff win
Aryna Sabalenka produced a stunning comeback to reach the Wuhan Open final, coming from a set and a break down to end Coco Gauff's nine-match winning run.
In a repeat of their Australian Open semi-final clash in January, Sabalenka again emerged victorious, winning 1-6 6-4 6-4 in two hours and 28 minutes.
Gauff wasted no time in stamping her authority on the contest, breaking Sabalenka's serve in consecutive games to race into a comfortable 5-0 lead in the opening set.
Sabalenka eventually get her first point on the board in the sixth game, but the damage had already been done, with Gauff claiming the early advantage, dropping just 13 points in doing so.
The second set saw both players fail to hold serve, with the first five games seeing consecutive break points before Gauff took control, only for Sabalenka to win the next two games on the spin and hold on to take the encounter the distance.
Sabalenka started brightly in the decider, taking an early 3-0 lead, with the third game seeing 19 points contested before the Belarusian hammered home her advantage.
The American managed to claw her way back into the contest, though, winning three games on the spin. But Sabalenka broke one final time, with Gauff striking her 21st double fault to seal Sabalenka's progression to the final.
Sabalenka will face the winner of the first all-Chinese semi-final at a WTA 1000 event between Qinwen Zheng and Xinyu Wang's on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Super Sabalenka
Sabalenka hit 31 winners during the contest, becoming the first player to hit 1000 winners in WTA-1000 since Opta collects this data in 2021.
The Belarusian also became the player with the joint most finals reached in WTA events held in China in the Open Era (six), level with Alison Riske & Jelena Jankovic.
She is now the player with the most main draw wins at the Wuhan Open since the tournament's inception in 2014, equalling Petra Kvitova's total of 16.
Only Jannik Sinner (eight, including Shanghai) has made more Tour level finals than Sabalenka in 2024 (seven, including Wuhan).
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