Halep, who has won the tournament for the last two years, had looked imperious on her way to the last eight, dropping only nine games in three matches including Wednesday’s win against Pliskova’s twin sister Kristyna.
But her winning streak in the Spanish capital ended at 15 matches as her 26-year-old opponent continued her impressive form on the red clay having won the Stuttgart title last month.
It was sixth seed Pliskova’s first claycourt victory over Halep and it was the kind of authoritative performance that will turn a few heads as the French Open looms later this month.
Pliskova broke for a 4-3 lead in the opening set and although Halep saved two set points serving at 3-5 Pliskova closed out the opener with a love hold.
Romanian Halep’s error-count was surprisingly high and she found herself under pressure early in the second set as Pliskova pounced to break in the third game.
Halep could make little impression on Pliskova’s powerful serving and she buckled at 3-5, dropping serve again to bow out.
She quickly shrugged off the loss, however, saying she would now focus on Rome next week before turning her thoughts to another attempt to land a first grand slam title.
“I’m not stressing myself about the points. I’m not stressing myself about this busy schedule,” she said.
“I just want to enjoy it. I enjoy it. I’m looking forward already to start the next tournament. There is no pressure. I feel like it’s an opportunity to play my best tennis.”
“Maybe I didn’t play my best game, but maybe she didn’t let me play my best game. She was really good today.”
France’s Caroline Garcia also made the semi-finals with a straight sets defeat of Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro.
Sharapova beaten by Bertens
Maria Sharapova’s French Open preparations were dealt a blow yesterday as she was beaten in three sets by Kiki Bertens at the Madrid Open.
Sharapova, the Madrid champion in 2014, led by a set on Arantxa Sanchez court and threatened a comeback from 5-1 down in the decider but her Dutch opponent held on for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Bertens, who reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2016, will now face France’s Caroline Garcia for a place in tomorrow’s final.
Edmund beats Goffin for QF spot
Britain’s Kyle Edmund followed up his surprise win over Novak Djokovic by beating Belgium’s David Goffin yesterday to march into the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open.
Edmund had lost in five sets to Goffin when they last met, also on clay, in the 2015 Davis Cup but the 23-year-old’s rise has been sharp since then and this was a completely different contest.
The Briton won it 6-3, 6-3, breaking Goffin’s serve twice in the first set and once in the second, to move into the last eight of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career.
Goffin is no slouch on clay. He reached the French Open quarter-finals last year and made the semis in Barcelona earlier this month.
He is also only the second top-10 player Edmund has beaten, coming four months after the Yorkshireman ousted world number three Grigor Dimitrov at the Australian Open.
Djokovic, recently back from injury, is currently under-ranked at 12th.
Edmund will now face Canadian Denis Shapovalov for a place in the semi-finals, with Alexander Zverev a possible foe in the last four. Rafael Nadal lurks in the other half of the draw.
Goffin is one of the most consistent baseliners in the game but he simply was unable to cope with Edmund’s heavier weight of shot.
After breaking twice to seal the first set, Edmund spurned one match point at 5-2 on Goffin’s serve and then delivered a double fault a game later to set nerves jangling.
But, just as he had done against Djokovic the day before, Edmund did not waver, serving out when a Goffin forehand hit the net to confirm victory in a brief hour and 12 minutes.
His next opponent Shapovalov scored a 6-4, 6-4 win over Milos Raonic, his fellow Canadian who is still recovering from an injury-plagued few months.
In other match yesterday, Austrian fifth seed Dominic Thiem rallied from one set down to beat Croatia’s Borna Coric 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, while Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic shocked Argentine fourth seed Juan Martín Del Potro 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6).