RICKY DIMON LOOKS AT RAFAEL NADAL IN THE STUTTGART TENNIS FINALS, HE WILL PLAY VIKTOR TROICKI WHO BEAT CILIC

Written by: Staff on 13th June 2015

RICKY DIMON LOOKS AT RAFAEL NADAL IN THE STUTTGART TENNIS FINALS, HE WILL PLAY VIKTOR TROICKI WHO BEAT CILIC |

Nadal through to Stuttgart final, Troicki denies Cilic

By Ricky Dimon

Rafael Nadal’s 2015 campaign has featured a whole host of rare–“stunning” may be more accurate–occurrences. After all, he went through the entire European clay-court swing without winning a single title. The latest infrequent event, however, is something of which Nadal can be pround.

The 10th-ranked Spaniard is through to his first grass-court final in four years (Wimbledon 2011) after beating Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 in the semis of the Topshelf Open on Saturday. Nadal did not drop serve a single time, saving all four of the break points he faced to prevail after one hour and 19 minutes.

It was a far cry from the top seed’s previous matches in Stuttgart. He dropped sets to both Marcos Baghdatis and Bernard Tomic and needed a combined six hours to survive those two rounds (2:40 against Baghdatis and 2:20 against Tomic).

On semifinal Saturday it was the other side of the draw to deliver the drama. Viktor Troicki fought back from a break down in the third set to outlast Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(2) in two hours and 21 minutes. Troicki will now contest his first-ever ATP title match on this surface.

“I’ve been playing on grass since 2013 and to play in my first grass-court final, it’s great,” the 28th-ranked Serb said. “I’m really happy with how I played. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s final.”

Serbia’s Viktor Troicki in action against Alexander Zverev from Germany during their second round match of the ATP tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, 10 June 2015. EPA/MARIJAN MURAT

The underdog has nothing to lose in that final…well, other than ATP title. But he is an obvious underdog not just because of the rankings. He is also 0-4 lifetime in the head-to-head series. The two veterans have also not squared off since 2010, when Nadal prevailed 6-1, 6-3 in Doha and 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(7) in Tokyo. Troicki served for the win in Tokyo and squandered three match points.

“I try not to think about that match because I had a lot of chances,” he reflected. “Actually, I will think about what I can improve on. I served for the match. But this is on grass and I think I will have my chances.”

Troicki has also scored wins this week over Borna Coric, Alexander Zverev, and Sam Groth. He is 23-12 on the season and bidding for his second title (he previously triumphed in Sydney as a qualifier).

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp World Tour, Mercedes Cup, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Stuttgart, Tennis News, Viktor Troicki

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10sBalls_com says:

June 13, 2015 at 1:02 pm

-@Dimonator LOOKS AT @RafaelNadal IN THE #STUTTGART TENNIS FINALS, HE WILL PLAY @troicki_viktor WHO BEAT @cilic_marin http://t.co/sU3ECwal6v