Stuttgart (Germany): Rafael Nadal earned his second title of the season and his fourth on grass as he defeated Serb Viktor Troicki 7-6 (7/3), 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 now owns two grass titles at Wimbledon plus 2008 Queen’s Club, London and now Stuttgart.
The 14-time grand slam champion who is ranked 10th, polished his record against eighth seed Troicki to 5-0, last facing the Serb in a Tokyo semi-final nearly five years ago. Nadal took victory as he played his his 95th career final, now standing 66-29 in finals. Nadal’s victory boosted him to 33-10 this season as he prepares for what he hopes is a better second half of 2015.
