Finals previews and picks: Nadal vs. Troicki, Goffin vs. Mahut

Rafael Nadal is one win away from the Stuttgart title, with Viktor Troicki standing in his way on Sunday. In ‘s-Hertogenbosch, meanwhile, David Goffin and Gilles Muller are battling in the final.

Stuttgart: (1) Rafael Nadal vs. (8) Viktor Troicki

Nadal and Troicki will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers when they meet in the final of the Mercedes Cup on Sunday. All four of their previous encounters have gone Nadal’s way, but they have never faced each other on anything other than hard courts. The two veterans have also not squared off since 2010, when the Spaniard prevailed 6-1, 6-3 in Doha and 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(7) in Tokyo.

This is the first-ever grass-court final for Troicki, who has advanced with wins over Borna Coric, Alexander Zverev, Sam Groth, and Marin Cilic–the latter in a third-set tiebreaker. The 28th-ranked Serb is 23-12 on the season and bidding for his second title (he previously triumphed in Sydney as a qualifier). Nadal has also dropped two sets this week, in successive matches against Marcos Baghdatis and Bernard Tomic. The world No. 10 then picked up the pace with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Gael Monfils on Saturday. Nadal is through to his first final on grass since Wimbledon in 2011. With his confidence finally growing, Nadal should be able to take care of business without too much trouble.

Pick: Nadal in 2

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‘s-Hertogenbosch: (WC) Nicolas Mahut vs. (2) David Goffin

Each of Mahut’s two career ATP titles have come at 250-point grass-court events. In fact, they came in the span of just a few weeks during the summer of 2013, when the Frenchman triumphed in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Newport. Two years later he is looking to win the Topshelf Open title once again, and for the second straight time as a qualifier. So far this week the world No. 97 has taken out Lleyton Hewitt, Roberto Bautista Agut, Adrian Mannarino, and Robin Haase following qualification victories over Oliver Marach, Jurgen Zopp, and Kenny De Schepper.

Mahut will look to cap off his run in Sunday’s final against Goffin. Their only previous meeting came three seasons ago on the hard courts of Winston-Salem, where the Belgian scored a 7-6(3), 6-1 win. Goffin earned his place in this title match by defeating Jurgen Melzer, Illya Marchenko, and Gilles Muller. The world No. 15 is also looking for his third ATP title, having twice lifted trophies in 2014 (on the clay of Kitzbuhel and the indoor hard courts of Metz). Although both men have enjoyed at least some success on all surfaces, grass is obviously what Mahut would choose to contest this matchup. He will be helped additionally by the fact that three of his main-draw conquests have relatively similar playing styles to that of Goffin. It will not be easy, but don’t be surprised if Mahut pulls off one more upset at what may have to be considered his favorite tournament.

Pick: Mahut in 3

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