Nadal survives a big scare
stuttgart — Rafael Nadal began the difficult annual transition from clay to grass on Thursday, taking more than two and a half hours to advance to the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Open.
The top seed, whose ranking has fallen to 10th after a terrible clay season in which he failed to win a European title, overcame Marcos Baghdatis 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (4/7), 6-2 for his 30th victory of the season. Nadal managed to win the opening set as he began the pre-Wimbledon season at the venue where he claimed 2005 and 2007 titles on clay.
Nadal will next face fifth seed Bernard Tomic after the Australian overpowered Tommy Haas 7-6 (8/6), 6-2 to end the veteran’s comeback after a year on the sidelines following his fourth shoulder surgery.
Second seed Marin Cilic, the US Open champion, made a successful start on grass, defeating German lucky loser Matthias Bachinger 7-6 (7/2), 6-3. Nadal was pleased to escape an upset at the hands of Baghdatis just over a week after crashing out the French Open as a 39-match win streak at the venue was ended by Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. “I’m very happy to win this match, it’s good to be in the quarterfinals,” said the 29-yearold Spaniard. “Marcos made it difficult, he’s a tough opponent on this surface. I need to play more aggressively if I’m to improve on the grass. This was an important victory for me, it’s good for the confidence.
“I have great memories of winning here when Stuttgart was clay, but I’m going to try my best to win it on grass now.” Nadal won the opening set after more than an hour and saved two Baghdatis set points in the 10th game of the second before the 63rd-ranked challenger levelled at a set each by winning a tiebreaker.
Nadal gathered his powers in the third set, breaking for 3-1 to eventually run out the winner.
I’m very happy to win this match today
Nadal