Rafael Nadal on Stuttgart win: ‘I’ve not forgotten how to play’

Spaniard’s first title on grass since Wimbledon in 2010.

Rafael Nadal of Spain on his way to victory over Viktor Troicki of Serbia at the ATP tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany. EPA

Rafael Nadal earned his second title of the season and his fourth on grass as he defeated Serb Viktor Troicki 7-6, 6-3 on Sunday to become the first man to triumph on both clay and turf 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 has won two grass titles at Wimbledon plus the 2008 Queen’s Club in London and now Stuttgart.

The 14-time grand slam tournament champion, who is ranked World No 10, polished his record against eighth seed Troicki to 5-0, last facing the Serb in a Tokyo semi-final five years ago.

Nadal took victory as he played his 95th career final and stands 66-29 in finals.

His last grass final came at Wimbledon in 2011 when he lost to Novak Djokovic.

Troicki was playing his seventh career final, his first on grass and has a two-wins-to-five-defeats record in title matches.

Nadal’s victory boosted him to 33-10 this season as he prepares for what he hopes is a better second half of 2015. He is 17-2 in Stuttgart, where he last competed eight years ago.

“I’m not bothered by the expectations of others,” the 29-year-old Spaniard said.

“I’m only motivated by my own goals, There is no pressure on me. It’s fantastic to win here on grass after winning on clay.

“Victor is a tough opponent, but I’ve been gaining confidence over the past month and a half after a very poor first three-and-a-half months of this season.

“I’ve been feeling my game getting better since after my first match in Monte Carlo (mid-April). It was mentally tiring for me to play tennis in the first part of the year. I was not feeling comfortable on court.

“I was not able to play the way that I wanted. I didn’t feel confidence. But that has been changing and my focus now is to prepare as best as I can for ­Wimbledon.

“My level has always been there, I’ve not forgotten how to play tennis. But now things are coming together for me.”

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.

In the Netherlands, veteran Nicolas Mahut defeated No 2 seed David Goffin in straight sets 7-6, 6-1 to win the Topshelf Open.

After both players looked evenly matched on the Dutch grass court, Frenchman Mahut took control of the tiebreaker to claim the opening set.

Mahut then continued his momentum with an early break and the Belgian failed to mount a recovery as the 33-year-old world No 97 closed out the match for a second ATP title victory at ‘s-hertogenbosch in one hour and 17 minutes.

In the women’s tournament, fifth seed Camila Giorgi of Italy defeated Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-3

Bencic, 18, had defeated former world No 1 Jelena Jankovic to reach the final, but the No 4-seed found the going tough against Giorgi, as her superior service game helped the 23-year-old Italian secure a first WTA title.

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