Bertens wins womens Madrid Open title

Kiki Bertens beat Simona Helep 6-4, 6-4 to win the 2019 women's title in the Madrid Open tennis tournament here on Saturday.

The Dutch No. 7 seed, was just too good for the two-time winner in Madrid, who would have returned to the No. 1 spot in the world with a win in the 'Caja Magica'. However, after Halep took a 4-2 lead in the first set, Bertens was just too strong for the Romanian.

Bertens' two-set win means she has gone all the way through the tournament without dropping a set.

The win is 27-year old Bertens's ninth career title and her second of the year after her triumph in St Petersburg.

In the men's competition, Novak Djokovic will face either Rafael Nadal or Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's men's final.

Djokovic beat Diminic Thiem, who on Friday defeated Roger Federer 7-6(2), 7-6(4) in a close match.

"I've played my best tennis of the year on clay. Even though I am top seed, I went on court thinking he (Thiem) was the favorite after beating Federer here and his performance in Barcelona," said Djokovic after his win, before telling Spanish TV that "tonight I'm going out dancing, and later I'll think about the final."

Barbara Strycova/Hsieh Su-Wei won the women's doubles title, beating Dabrowski/Xu Yifan 6-3, 6-1 in the final.