Belinda Bencic stunned world number one Naomi Osaka for the second time in 2019 as she reached the Madrid semi-finals with a 3-6 6-2 7-5 victory.
It was a stunning performance as Bencic won the last four games of the match to seal her place in the last four in Madrid.
Osaka had served for the match but couldn’t close it out as she is now in danger of losing her world number one spot this week.
Next up for Bencic is Simona Halep, who can now become world number one again if she wins Madrid for the third time this week.
The match saw a fast start for the world number one as she created some good angles off her forehand to seal the first break of the match at 3-1.
However Bencic had been playing well this week and gained some consistency on return to immediately break back as she looked for her first semi-final in Madrid.
A lot of good play saw both women on the front foot as they looked to gain the first set but a Bencic double fault in the eighth game was the decisive moment.
That sealed the crucial break as Osaka held firm to take the opening set 6-3 in 36 minutes.
There was more aggression in the second set from Bencic though as she knew she had to reduce the amount of unforced errors if she wanted to win the much.
While Bencic was thriving, the world number one was too emotional in the key moments as she criticised herself with every missed shot.
Three breaks of serve saw the world number 18 force a deciding set as momentum was now firmly on her side of the court.
The final set saw both players save break points as Bencic was looking to force the issue against a fairly passive Osaka.
Despite her good work though, Bencic was immediately punished for a loose service game as Osaka had the first break of serve in the decider.
Frustrations continued to mount for the Swiss as she failed to convert either of her two break points despite some astonishing points.
An eight minute hold put the world number one in the pole position to win the match at 4-2. There was still hope for Bencic as she continued her aggressive style on return.
After wasting a half-chance to win the match, Osaka looked mentally confused as she couldn’t quite have the nerve to close out the match.
A break to love saw Bencic’s confidence grow and grow as she sensed a real opportunity to control the match with her racket.
A second break of the set and another impressive return game sealed four games in a row and the match in impressive style.
https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1126501027631357955
The win means she is on the verge of the top 15 having beaten Naomi Osaka for the second time in 2019 after beating her in Indian Wells.
As for the world number one it will be a tough loss to take as she could lose her world number one spot if Halep wins the title.
Tomorrow Bencic will play the Roland Garros champion for a place in her first Madrid final.

