Nadal eases into Stuttgart final
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TOP-SEEDED Rafael Nadal defeated Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 yesterday to reach the final of the Mercedes Cup.
The 14-time grand slam winner saved all four break points he faced and converted two of his own to beat the fourth-seeded Monfils in 1 hour, 19 minutes. The Frenchman lost despite serving 11 aces compared to none from Spaniard Nadal.
Nadal, who was made to work hard against Bernard Tomic and Marcos Baghdatis in the previous rounds, says it was his “best match so far. I am very pleased with my performance”.
Nadal will face the eighth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia or second-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia in today’s final. The Spaniard is looking for his third title at the tournament after victories in 2005 and 2007 when it was still on clay.
Meanwhile, Australian teenager Thanasi Kokkinakis was given a wildcard into the Wimbledon warm-up event at Queen’s Club yesterday.
Kokkinakis was granted the late entry into the west London grasscourt tournament, which begins tomorrow, after Britain’s Kyle Edmund withdrew due to an abdominal injury.
The 19-year-old broke into the world’s top 100 recently and is now at a career-high 69 in the ATP rankings.
Kokkinakis demonstrated his vast potential by reaching the second round of the Australian Open and the last 16 in Indian Wells earlier this year, while also winning his first challenger title in Bordeaux.
He joins a strong Queen’s Club line-up which boasts eight of the world’s top 14 players, including Andy Murray, Nadal, Stan Wawrinka and Cilic.
“Kyle desperately wanted to play, and we were looking forward to seeing him, but he hasn’t quite returned to full fitness in time to compete at this level. We wish him a full and speedy recovery,” tournament director Stephen Farrow said.
“At the same time, Thanasi has posted some impressive results this year, he’s an exciting prospect and this is a great opportunity to show what he can do.”
Kokkinakis will play French world No. 37 Jeremy Chardy in the first round.
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