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Posted at 8:36 a.m., Saturday, October 18, 2008

Tennis: Simon upsets Nadal in Madrid Masters semifinal

Associated Press

MADRID, Spain — Rafael Nadal was knocked out of the Madrid Masters on Saturday, as Gilles Simon of France rallied to win 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6) and advance to the final against Andy Murray.

Simon saved 17 break point chances — including seven in the final set — to reach his fourth final of the year after a match lasting nearly 3 1/2 hours.

The fourth-ranked Murray had earlier beaten Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a rematch of last month's U.S. Open final. That meant Nadal will become the first Spanish player in the Open era to end the year as No. 1.