By Chris Oddo | Friday, June 12, 2015
Rafael Nadal battled through a tricky encounter with Bernard Tomic to reach the Stuttgart semis.
Photo Source: EPE
Rafael Nadal has won his first two grass-court matches of 2015 in three sets after easing past Bernard Tomic, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 on Friday at the Mercedes Cup.
More: ATP's Highest-Paid Players, Monfils' Car Quest
Nadal rattled home 14 aces on the day and saved eight of nine break points, including both that he faced in the decider, to earn his third win in three tries against the Aussie.
Nadal took a set and a break lead in the first game of the second set, but Tomic broke back immediately to level and would end up winning the set in a tiebreaker after a masterful set on serve that saw him win 23 of 27 first-serve points.
But Nadal regained the edge early in the decider, breaking in the second game, and marched to victory from there.
It was by no means a walk in the park for the Spaniard. He was forced to take a medical timeout after the second set to have his foot looked at. Though he seemed no worse for the wear afterwards, he ended up pulling out of his doubles semifinal later in the day, as he and Feliciano Lopez handed Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares the walkover into the final.
Nadal will face Gael Monfils in the semifinals on Saturday. The Frenchman hammered 17 aces in taking out 6th-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. It was Monfils’ 10th victory in 12 career battles with the German.