( CNN ) Rafael Nadal insists he is on the `` right path '' in his latest comeback but his defense of the Rio Open title was ended in a late night defeat to Italy 's Fabio Fognini -- snapping an incredible record in ATP Tour semifinal matches on his favorite clay surface . Nadal had racked up 52 straight wins over 12 years to reach title matches , but the battling Fognini ended the streak with a 1-6 6-2 7-5 victory . He will meet Nadal 's fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in Sunday 's final . Nadal , whose 2014 was disrupted by injury and illness after winning a record ninth French Open title , has struggled since his return to action , losing in the first round in Qatar and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open . But returning to clay in Brazil , the world number three was a firm favorite to repeat his success of last year and had a winning 4-0 record over Fognini going into their last four encounter . But after cruising to the first set , his opponent adopted a more aggressive approach and forced a deciding set . Nadal , trailing 5-6 in the third set , finally cracked as Fognini converted his third match point after a stunning rally , closing out victory after two hours 17 minutes . `` I 'm really happy about this match , '' Fognini told the official ATP Tour website . `` I beat the best player on this surface . Rafa is always difficult . From the second set I played really well , and I tried to change a little bit to be more positive on court . '' The match finished after midnight Saturday local time and Nadal had been kept on court until 3.30 am in his quarterfinal win over Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas , but he refused to make excuses . `` I have to accept the situation and work to get ready for what 's next , '' he said . `` I 'm working well , I have the right attitude , I have to improve things and I think that I 'm on the right path and closer to the level of game that I 'm looking for . '' The 27-year-old Fognini , who had himself been kept on court late Friday night in his last eight clash with Argentine Federico Delbonis , will be bidding for his fifth ATP Tour title , but has never beaten Ferrer in seven previous matches . Nadal will now head to the ATP clay court event in Buenos Aires , Argentina as he steps up his preparations to win a 10th French Open at Roland Garros later this year . But his fourth defeat on clay in the course of the year , to Ferrer in Monte Carlo , world number one Novak Djokovic in Rome and Nicolas Almagro in Barcelona were the others , leaves question marks over Nadal 's bid to make further history . In other ATP Tour action , fifth seed Gilles Simon beat French compatriot Gael Monfils 6-4 1-6 7-6 Sunday to win the title in Marseille . It was the 12th career title for the 30-year-old Simon , while seventh seed Monfils slipped to 5-17 in finals . On the WTA Tour , Simona Halep of Romania beat the Czech Republic 's Karolina Pliskova 6-4 7-6 in the final of the Dubai Championships . It was her 10th career title and will lift Halep to third in the world rankings behind Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova . Halep eventually prevailed after a marathon second set lasting over an hour , wasting two match points as she served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 , before edging the tiebreaker .
Rafael Nadal slips to shock defeat in Rio . Defending champion beaten in semifinals by Fabio Fognini . First semifinal defeat on clay in 52 matches for Nadal . Simona Halep wins WTA tournament in Dubai .