Kiki Bertens stuns Simona Halep to lift Madrid Open title

Dutch tennis star Kiki Bertens scripted history on Saturday by becoming the first woman player to clinch a title at the Madrid Open without dropping a set following a thumping win over world number three Simona Halep in the final of the tournament. 

The 27-year-old player from the Netherlands looked dominant throughout the summit showdown as she eased past reigning French Open champion Halep 6-4, 6-4 in almost one and a half hour to lift the title. 

En route to her solid straight-sets win over Halep, Bertens smashed 25 winners and four aces to bring her overall Women's Tennis Association (WTA)-tour leading count to 219 in the ongoing season, the official website reported.

Romanian tennis star Halep, on the other hand, won back-to-back titles in 2016-17 and was bidding for a record-tying third Madrid Open title ahead of the final. The victory at the summit showdown would have seen Halep return to the numero-uno spot in the WTA rankings. 

Bertens, who defeated three Grand Slam winners Jelena Ostapenko, Sloane Stephens and Petra Kvitova en route to her eventual title win, has now broken into the top five for the first time. She will climb up to take the world number four spot in the WTA rankings which will be released on Monday.