Rafael Nadal vows to be more aggressive after surviving Marcos Baghdatis test

Updated 11/06/2015 at 17:40 GMT

Two-times Wimbledon champion Rafa Nadal began his grass-court season with a 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-2 defeat of Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.

Rafael Nadal - Stuttgart - 11/06/2015

Image credit: AFP

It was a morale-boosting win for the Spaniard, who suffered only his second defeat in 72 matches at the French Open last week when he lost in the quarter-final to Novak Djokovic.

Nadal will face Australian Bernard Tomic in the last eight on Friday at an event he won twice when it was played on clay.

I'm very happy to be through. The first match on grass is very important. Every match on grass is very dangerous, and Marcos is a great player. He had played a match here which helped him a little bit, but it is very important for me to be through to the quarter-finals. I am happy to be back in Stuttgart. I have to play a little bit more aggressive on the return of serve I feel, but I really hope that I will be ready for tomorrow. I had plenty of practice today, and I hope to be at my best tomorrow. I have great memories playing here on clay, and I'm a little bit sad about that. But this is what is best for the tournament.

ATP Rome

Are Nadal, Alcaraz, Djokovic playing Italian Open? When does it start?

2 hours ago

The 29-year-old top seed, down at 10th in the ATP rankings after a disappointing year so far, will have been pleased at how he responded in the deciding set having been pegged back by Baghdatis and the two hours 40 minutes he spent honing his grass game game will surely serve him well.

Nadal began in rusty fashion, dropping serve early on and Baghdatis had chances to lead 5-2 with a double break but allowed the world number 10 off the hook.

A dreadful service game from Baghdatis allowed Nadal back into the first set and Nadal gradually began to find his range, taking the opener on the tiebreak.

Nadal saved two set points at 4-5 in the second set, the second with a deft drop volley, but could not fend off Baghdatis in the tiebreak as the match went the distance.

He took command in the decider though and moved through to the quarter-finals where he will face Australian Bernard Tomic, who completed a 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 win over Germany's Tommy Haas in 77 minutes.

I was down 6-4 in the tie-break and managed to hit an unbelievable pass," said Tomic. "That was the turning point; I managed to hit the right shot at the right time. In the second set, I felt like I played the right tennis and played really well. Match by match I'm getting better, which is the most important thing I think.

Haas, 37, was playing his first tournament in 12 month after shoulder surgery a year ago.

Losing the first set mentally put me in a bad mood," said Haas. "I thought about it probably for too long. Then I got broken right away in the second set and he took off from there. I felt my shoulder was getting a bit tight, which didn't help, but overall I'm pleased with the way I played.

Results from the Stuttgart International Men's Singles Round 2 matches on Thursday

1-Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-2

5-Bernard Tomic (Australia) beat Tommy Haas (Germany) 7-6(6) 6-2

Mischa Zverev (Germany) beat Andreas Seppi (Italy) 6-2 6-4

WTA Madrid