Nadal wins 1st grass match of season at Mercedes Cup

Rafael Nadal needed three sets, but he beat Marcos Baghdatis at the Mercedes Cup on Thursday:

Nadal won 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-2 in two hours and 40 minutes, and improves to 6-5 on grass since reaching the Wimbledon final in 2011, which he lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets.

Nadal said:

The first match on grass is always tough. (Baghdatis) is a very good player, and he'd already played a match. I need to be more aggressive, to return better, and to move better.

Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Bernard Tomic cut short the comeback of German veteran Tommy Haas and reached the quarterfinals of the Mercedes Cup with a 7-6 (6), 6-2 victory on Thursday.

The 37-year-old Haas played his second match after missing more than a year with a shoulder injury. Tomic saved two set points and then won the first 11 points of the second set as he quickly broke Haas' serve twice for a decisive lead.

The Australian will next face top-seeded Nadal next.

German qualifier Mischa Zverev continued his good run in the grass-court event, beating Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-2, 6-4 for a place in the last eight.