Top seed Rafael Nadal came through a tough opening match Thursday at the MercedesCup, battling past Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in Stuttgart.
The Spaniard fought back from a break down to clinch the opening set and broke his Cypriot opponent twice to take control of the decider, claiming victory in two hours and 40 minutes.
The Spaniard fought back from a break down to clinch the opening set and broke his Cypriot opponent twice to take control of the decider, claiming victory in two hours and 40 minutes.
"It was a little bit of a strange match," said Nadal. "I’m happy to be through. It’s an important victory for me. The first match on grass is always very difficult... At the beginning I didn’t play my best, but I finished the match much better than how I started."
Nadal, who is through to the doubles semi-finals with Feliciano Lopez, is playing in Stuttgart for the first time since lifting the trophy at the then-clay-court tournament in 2007 (d. Wawrinka). He also won the title in 2005 (d. Gaudio).
The 29-year-old Nadal notched his 30th win of the season. He is coming off a quarter-final exit at Roland Garros (l. to Djokovic), where he suffered just his second loss in 72 matches at the clay-court Grand Slam.
Next up for Nadal will be fifth seed Bernard Tomic, who reached his seventh ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season as he ended Tommy Haas’ comeback with a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory.
The Australian lost just 10 points on serve and converted two of his eight break points to win the match in 77 minutes. The 37-year-old Haas was playing his first tournament in 12 months, since undergoing shoulder surgery in June 2014.
"I was down 6-4 in the tie-break and managed to hit an unbelievable pass," said Tomic. "That was the turning point; I managed to hit the right shot at the right time. In the second set, I felt like I played the right tennis and played really well. Match by match I'm getting better, which is the most important thing I think."
"Losing the first set mentally put me in a bad mood," said Haas. "I thought about it probably for too long. Then I got broken right away in the second set and he took off from there. I felt my shoulder was getting a bit tight, which didn't help, but overall I'm pleased with the way I played."
German qualifier Mischa Zverev advanced to his first quarter-final in almost two years as he defeated Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-4 in 76 minutes. The 27 year old goes on to challenge second seed Marin Cilic, who beat home hopeMatthias Bachinger 7-6(2), 6-3 in the last match of the day.
The 29-year-old Nadal notched his 30th win of the season. He is coming off a quarter-final exit at Roland Garros (l. to Djokovic), where he suffered just his second loss in 72 matches at the clay-court Grand Slam.
Next up for Nadal will be fifth seed Bernard Tomic, who reached his seventh ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season as he ended Tommy Haas’ comeback with a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory.
The Australian lost just 10 points on serve and converted two of his eight break points to win the match in 77 minutes. The 37-year-old Haas was playing his first tournament in 12 months, since undergoing shoulder surgery in June 2014.
"I was down 6-4 in the tie-break and managed to hit an unbelievable pass," said Tomic. "That was the turning point; I managed to hit the right shot at the right time. In the second set, I felt like I played the right tennis and played really well. Match by match I'm getting better, which is the most important thing I think."
"Losing the first set mentally put me in a bad mood," said Haas. "I thought about it probably for too long. Then I got broken right away in the second set and he took off from there. I felt my shoulder was getting a bit tight, which didn't help, but overall I'm pleased with the way I played."
German qualifier Mischa Zverev advanced to his first quarter-final in almost two years as he defeated Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-4 in 76 minutes. The 27 year old goes on to challenge second seed Marin Cilic, who beat home hopeMatthias Bachinger 7-6(2), 6-3 in the last match of the day.
"I'm just really, really happy," said Zverev. "It took me two years to get back into an ATP quarter-final. I've been through a lot, a lot of injuries and time out. Starting last off-season, where I trained with my brother, we had a lot of great weeks together. It gave me an extra little push to do well again on tour. Now I'm happy I can perform again and stay healthy."
Buy Tickets | TV Schedule
Buy Tickets | TV Schedule
Success For Seeds In Stuttgart QFs
Second seeds Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic advanced to the doubles semi-finals with a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory over Dustin Brown and Andreas Haider-Maurer in 64 minutes. They will face fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea, who beat Mate Pavic and Michael Venus 7-6(5), 6-2.
“It’s always tough, the first week on the grass,” said Zimonjic. “I’m happy that we went through today in two sets. It’s not going to be easy in the semi-finals. We’re expecting a tough match and we’re looking forward to the next challenge.”
Second seeds Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic advanced to the doubles semi-finals with a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory over Dustin Brown and Andreas Haider-Maurer in 64 minutes. They will face fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea, who beat Mate Pavic and Michael Venus 7-6(5), 6-2.
“It’s always tough, the first week on the grass,” said Zimonjic. “I’m happy that we went through today in two sets. It’s not going to be easy in the semi-finals. We’re expecting a tough match and we’re looking forward to the next challenge.”
Third seeds Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares also reached the final four, beating Andre Begemann and Julian Knowle 6-4, 6-4.
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου