Clay-grass double for Nadal

June 15, 2015 12:24 am | Updated November 16, 2021 05:00 pm IST - Stuttgart

KICK-START: Rafael Nadal could not have asked for a better build-up to Wimbledon with victory in Stuttgart.

KICK-START: Rafael Nadal could not have asked for a better build-up to Wimbledon with victory in Stuttgart.

Rafael Nadal earned his second title of the season and his fourth on grass as he defeated Serbian Viktor Troicki 7-6(3), 6-3 on Sunday to become the first man to triumph on both clay and grass at the Stuttgart Open.

The Spanish top seed set another minor record, as he won the inaugural grass edition after taking clay trophies here in 2005 and 2007. Stuttgart made the switch to grass starting with this edition as part of the new Wimbledon pre-season.

Nadal’s 66th career title marked his second in 2015 after claiming a trophy on South American clay last February. The Spaniard now owns two grass titles at Wimbledon, plus 2008 Queen’s Club, London and now Stuttgart.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion, who is ranked 10th, polished his record against eighth seed Troicki to 5-0, last facing the Serb in a Tokyo semifinal nearly five years ago. Nadal took victory as he played his 95th career final, now standing 66-29 in finals.

“I’m not bothered by the expectations of others,” said the 29-year-old. “I’m only motivated by my own goals; there is no pressure on me. It is fantastic to win here on grass after winning on clay. Viktor is a tough opponent. But, I have been gaining confidence over the past month-and-a-half after a very poor first three-and-a-half months of this season.”

Nadal spent 48 minutes in winning the opening set, which he took into a tiebreaker with a love game. The top seed grabbed the early 4-2 lead in the decider and fired a ninth ace to wrap up the opener.

In the second, the Spaniard broke for 3-1 and took victory on his third match point, ending with 11 aces in the 88-minute contest.

Bopanna-Mergea pair triumphs Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea won their second title of the season as they rallied to beat Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares in the doubles final. The fourth-seeded Indo-Romanian pair eked out a 5-7, 6-2, 10-7 win over the third-seeded Austrian-Brazilian team in one hour and 11 minutes.

Bopanna and Mergea had won the Madrid Masters last month. Individually, it was a fourth title of the season for Bopanna, having won trophies in Dubai and Sydney with Canadian partner Daniel Nestor.

After losing the first set, following a break of serve, Bopanna and Mergea came back strongly, not facing a single breakpoint in the second set and breaking their rivals twice to force a match tie-breaker.Italian fifth seed Camila Giorgi claimed victory in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch grasscourt tournament when she beat fourth-seeded Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-3. It was a maiden title for the 23-year-old Giorgi, the world No. 35 who had previously lost three finals.

The results: At Stuttgart (Mercedes Cup): Final: Rafael Nadal bt Viktor Troicki 7-6(3), 6-3 . Semifinals: Troicki bt Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(2).

Doubles: Final: Rohan Bopanna & Florin Mergea bt Alexander Peya & Bruno Soares 5-7, 6-2, 10-7; Semifinals: Bopanna & Mergea bt Marcin Matkowski & Nenad Zimonjic 6-3, 6-7(6), 10-7.

At ’s-Hertogenbosch (Topshelf Open): Women: Final: Camila Giorgi bt Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-3.

Men: Final: Nicolas Mahut bt David Goffin 7-6(1), 6-1. Semifinals: Goffin bt Gilles Muller 7-6(4), 6-4.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.