Karolina Pliskova defeats Simona Halep as Maria Sharapova also exits Madrid Open
Sharapova suffers disappointing defeat in her preparations for the French Open
Thursday 10 May 2018 17:48, UK
Karolina Pliskova ended Simona Halep's hopes of a third consecutive Madrid Open title with an impressive straight-sets victory.
Halep, world No 1, came into the encounter with a 15-match winning streak in the Spanish capital but suffered a 6-4 6-3 quarter-final defeat to her Czech opponent.
Pliskova is in good form after winning the Stuttgart title last month and secured only a third victory from her nine meetings with the Romanian.
The sixth seed hit 20 winners during the contest and broke Halep's serve four times to set up a meeting with either Daria Kasatkina or Petra Kvitova in the last four of the tournament.
Maria Sharapova was the headline casualty as the former Madrid champion from 2014 was beaten 4-6 6-2 6-3 by Kiki Bertens.
The five-time Grand Slam champion had reached only the second quarter-final of the year but was unable to build on winning the opening set as the Dutch world No 20, a winner already on the clay in Charleston, held her nerve in the deciding set.
Caroline Garcia will next meet Bertens, a former French Open semi-finalist, after she booked her spot in the semi-finals with a dominant 6-2 6-3 win against unseeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro.
The Masters 1000 Series continues throughout the week with our coverage of the ATP Madrid Open live on Sky Sports. Join us on Friday from midday on Sky Sports Arena.
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