Tennis News: Rafael Nadal Overcomes Bernard Tomic To Reach Semis In Stuttgart

Jun 13, 2015 02:13 AM EDT

(Photo : (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)) PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 03: Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot in his Men's quarter final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day eleven of the 2015 French Open at Roland Garros on June 3, 2015 in Paris, France.

Top seed Rafael Nadal overcame Bernard Tomic in their quarterfinal clash at the 2015 Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart on June 12. Nadal dispatched Tomic 6-4 6-7(6) 6-3 in two hours and 21 minutes to clinch a spot in the semifinals.

Nadal, who has a winning percentage of 78.2 percent on grass surface, is playing his first tournament after his quarterfinals defeat to Novak Djokovic at the 2015 French Open. This is the first time that Nadal has reached the semifinals in a tournament played on grass courts since his appearance in the last four of the 2011 Wimbledon.

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The ATP 250 series tennis tournament in Stuttgart was previously played on Nadal's favourite red clay surface, but the organisers changed it to grass court. It is now one of the grasscourt tennis events played in the run-up to the third grand slam of the season played at the All England Tennis and Croquet Club in SW19, the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.

The former World No. 1 and 14-time grand slam champion had a poor start this season, but he still has the rest of the year to try to win more matches. After sealing the victory over the Australian Tomic, Nadal said via AFP that he feels "strong and motivated" going into the second half of the 2015 tennis season.

"I played well today, it was a good match for me," Nadal said

Next up for Nadal is fourth-seed Frenchman Gael Monfils, who advanced in the last four after beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5 3-6 6-3. It will be Monfils' fifth semifinal appearance in 2015. Nadal leads their head-to-head record 10-2. The last time that the pair had met was during the third round of the 2014 Australian Open.

The winner of the Nadal-Monfils match will face the winner of the match between defending US Open champion Marin Cilic and Viktor Troicki. Cilic advanced after securing a victory over German Mischa Zverev 4-6 7-6(5) 7-6(5). Troicki, on the other hand, defeated Australian Sam Groth in straight sets 7-6(3) 6-1.

Nadal is looking to win his third title at the 2015 Mercedes Cup. He won the title in 2005 and 2007 when it was played on his favourite surface.

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