Defending champion Rafael Nadal suffered a shock 6-4 6-2 defeat by Italian Fabio Fognini in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters.

The 32-year-old Spaniard, seeking his 12th Monte Carlo title, had won his past 18 matches at the event and lost only four of 76 in his career.

World number 18 Fognini, 31, will face Serb Dusan Lajovic in Sunday’s final.

The world number 48 reached his first ATP final with a 7-5 6-1 win over Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Daniil Medvedev.

Lajovic, 28, came from 5-1 down to win 10 successive games against the 10th seed and become the lowest ranked Monte Carlo finalist since 2001.

Nadal had won his past 25 sets in Monte Carlo, but Fognini, who was a set and 4-1 down to Andrey Rublev in the first round, won in one hour 36 minutes to reach a Masters 1000 final for the first time.

He became only the fourth player to win three or more matches against Nadal on clay, and the first Italian to reach the Monte Carlo final since Corrado Barazzutti in 1977.

Britain’s Jamie Murray and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares lost 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to Dutchmen Robin Haase and Wesley Koolhof in the doubles semi-finals.

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