Halep Defeats Bencic to Reach Madrid Open final

World No 3 Simona Halep reached her fourth Madrid Open final after defeating Belinda Bencic on Friday.

Halep overcame Bencic 6-2 6-7 (2-7) 6-0 and will now head to Saturday's final against either Kiki Bertens or Sloane Stephens.

"It's a nice feeling to be back in the final of this special tournament. I'm really happy playing here," said Halep. "In the second set in that tiebreak I was rushing too much. I lost control of it, but then I just calmed down, told myself I had to start the match again. "I started to play smarter, opened the court more and became more aggressive."

On the other hand, Naomi Osaka could now face losing her world No 1 ranking after being defeated by Bencic in the quarter-finals. Reaching the last four would have secured Osaka's grasp on the top spot for another week but her 3-6 6-2 7-5 loss to Bencic means Halep can overtake her by winning the title if she could endure Saturday's final.