Way to go Tommy Haas!

Beat Djokovic using his variety. Right out of the Federer manual, but done even better. I think Haas was more patient coming in to the net than Federer, and also didn't have many errors from the baseline that Fed often runs into against Djok, even though Fed is the better player overall. Of course the 'cold weather' helped and Djok was 'off', but put all of that into the excuses column.

It was great to see Haas' attacking tennis, and how he had Djok off balance. A slice to the BH to push him back, then the cross court forehand into the open court. Or a somewhat short slice followed by a deep topspin BH. Very entertaining match. These matches demonstrate the difference between entertaining, attacking, creative tennis versus baseline battles that get monotonous.
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Beat Djokovic using his variety. Right out of the Federer manual, but done even better. I think Haas was more patient coming in to the net than Federer, and also didn't have many errors from the baseline that Fed often runs into against Djok, even though Fed is the better player overall. Of course the 'cold weather' helped and Djok was 'off', but put all of that into the excuses column.

It was great to see Haas' attacking tennis, and how he had Djok off balance. A slice to the BH to push him back, then the cross court forehand into the open court. Or a somewhat short slice followed by a deep topspin BH. Very entertaining match. These matches demonstrate the difference between entertaining, attacking, creative tennis versus baseline battles that get monotonous.

It reminded me of when Haas thumped Federer in the Halle final last year and people were ecstatic and delighted about his win. And then a week later, he crashes out in the first round of Wimbledon.
Same old Haas! Same old story! A once in a blue moon shock win over a tired player and that's all.
Back to bed...
 
It reminded me of when Haas thumped Federer in the Halle final last year and people were ecstatic and delighted about his win. And then a week later, he crashes out in the first round of Wimbledon.
Same old Haas! Same old story! A once in a blue moon shock win over a tired player and that's all.
Back to bed...

Sure, this may just be a one off win for Haas, and I am not predicting that he will win the next GS, or even the Miami title. But just this win in itself is a very good result for Haas at this stage of his career. He has also said as much that these big matches against top players on the main courts with all the crowds are what motivate him now. You can also see how enthusiastic Haas is playing these matches.
 

axel89

Banned
It reminded me of when Haas thumped Federer in the Halle final last year and people were ecstatic and delighted about his win. And then a week later, he crashes out in the first round of Wimbledon.
Same old Haas! Same old story! A once in a blue moon shock win over a tired player and that's all.
Back to bed...

he played kolschriber who had beaten nadal in halle
 

trilix

Rookie
Yeah congrats to Tommy. Just proves that even at the age of 34, you can still play at the top! Hmm, he will be 35 next week...
 

underground

G.O.A.T.
I was surprised that Djokovic kept coming into the net and just got burnt time after time. His net points won were 9/19. And by watching the highlights, from 2-2 to the end of the 2nd set he got passed a lot or couldn't put volleys away.

Oh not to mention another one of his choke smashes at the 1st point of the match.
 

raging

Professional
True but Haas just beat the multi-time Wimbledon champion. Who is kolschriber compared to Federer? :lol: Haas shouldn't be losing that match. It was a disappointment.

well Kohle loves halle! ask him..
Tommy hates playing Kohle there..

Tommy got hot against Roger who was still celebrating having a street named in his honour!

Tommy losing to Roger in a semi of RG while leading...now that was a disappointment!:twisted:

ask him..

Great to see hasi having a swansong...hope he has a great last year.
 

Dgpsx7

Professional
Fed is my favorite player ever but I don't think it is fair to disparage Haas by saying he beat a "tired" player in these situations. Haas is just as talented as anyone on tour. When he has it together he can play attacking tennis and he has an all court game that very few players on tour have right now. Not to mention his amazing backhand.

I don't think he played a tired Djokovic or a tired Fed I think just every once in a while he feels good and uses his skills correctly. Imagine what he could have done in the last decade with health and focus..Regardless I still love watching him play.
 

merwy

G.O.A.T.
he played kolschriber who had beaten nadal in halle

This. He had bad luck with his first round match-up. Also, Federer didn't play that good in the Halle final I thought. Djokovic was absolute crap yesterday. So no one is predicting that this win will jumpstart Haas' career again. Can't we just be happy for the 34 year old that he beat the modern world #1. How awesome is that feat by itself? The "weak era" 34 year old, coming back from lots of injuries beats the modern best player in the world.
 

BeHappy

Hall of Fame
It reminded me of when Haas thumped Federer in the Halle final last year and people were ecstatic and delighted about his win. And then a week later, he crashes out in the first round of Wimbledon.
Same old Haas! Same old story! A once in a blue moon shock win over a tired player and that's all.
Back to bed...

H's 35 and he just beat Djoker. Something that Dmitrov, Nishikori, Raonic, Tomic, Dolgopolov, Harrison and Gulbis will never achieve.

I think that's pretty good.
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
H's 35 and he just beat Djoker. Something that Dmitrov, Nishikori, Raonic, Tomic, Dolgopolov, Harrison and Gulbis will never achieve.

I think that's pretty good.

I remember Federer at the peak of his powers and ranked #1 losing to Canas back to back in Indian Wells and Miami. Canas had just returned to the tour at that time.
 

raging

Professional
I remember Federer at the peak of his powers and ranked #1 losing to Canas back to back in Indian Wells and Miami. Canas had just returned to the tour at that time.

yes willy got a big win, disappeared under a cloud9(drugs), came back and was never the same again.

Hasi has continued to battle & probably has had his problems but really glad for him. Hope his shoulder holds out, otherwise it will be doublefaults that hurt him.
 

Pickle9

Professional
Tommy executed the German Tennis Manual to perfection.

51H7FYRYMXL.jpg
 
djokovic saying it was the worst match he played in a long time - i only saw the highlights, but it seems haas didn't let him play much
 

Sid_Vicious

G.O.A.T.
djokovic saying it was the worst match he played in a long time - i only saw the highlights, but it seems haas didn't let him play much

Djokovic finished the match with 7 winners and 30 unforced errors. Djokovic also didn't make things any better for himself by beaming forehands into the Sony Ericsson sign.
 
Haas is taking the grinders out while playing exciting tennis. And that attacking backhand is awesome - didn't see a single shank today.
 

Harry_Wild

G.O.A.T.
Not bad for an old man(34->35) without a clothing contract! If Tommy wins it all; wonder if his old sponsor will be knocking to have him comeback?
 

Relinquis

Hall of Fame
Tommy Haas is showing the current generation of tennis fans how real baseline-cum-all-court tennis is played. I love it!

There are more options than pushing your way to victory. Big test next.
 

raging

Professional
Tommy Haas is showing the current generation of tennis fans how real baseline-cum-all-court tennis is played. I love it!

There are more options than pushing your way to victory. Big test next.

Totally happy to jump on the Hasi bandwagon!

Hope his doubles quarter with Xman doesn't blow his shoulder out too much..?

I think many are underrating Ferru- not playing well etc but he finished strong against Jo Jo Melzer who I thought challenged him well.

If Tommy can attack up the middle & serve consistently he has a chance.
Ferru is still returning very aggressively and if Tommy is half volleying returns then he will be under constant pressure on his serve.
He has to go after Ferru's serve to win.
Tougher one.
 

Relinquis

Hall of Fame
Totally happy to jump on the Hasi bandwagon!

Hope his doubles quarter with Xman doesn't blow his shoulder out too much..?

I think many are underrating Ferru- not playing well etc but he finished strong against Jo Jo Melzer who I thought challenged him well.

If Tommy can attack up the middle & serve consistently he has a chance.
Ferru is still returning very aggressively and if Tommy is half volleying returns then he will be under constant pressure on his serve.
He has to go after Ferru's serve to win.
Tougher one.

Yeah, Melzer gave Ferrer trouble in part because he is a lefty and that forced David to play lower % patterns. Yet, David still fed him a bagel in the final set!

Ferrer is such a beast, but I believe in Haas!
 

tennisdad65

Hall of Fame
Time to investigate his secret of youth. A 34 yr old who peaked ~7 years ago is now beating up on top players. This seems mighty suspicious to me.
 

kishnabe

Talk Tennis Guru
Time to investigate his secret of youth. A 34 yr old who peaked ~7 years ago is now beating up on top players. This seems mighty suspicious to me.

34 year olds minus all the injury layouts he has....he is possibly 26 years old right now.
 

ultradr

Legend
Wow, I haven't watched it but Haas found a solution to this post-2003 er of baseliners pushers on slow surfaces ?
 

fundrazer

G.O.A.T.
Wow, I haven't watched it but Haas found a solution to this post-2003 er of baseliners pushers on slow surfaces ?

Maybe the haas backhand down the line paying the bills? Dunno as I haven't watched him in Miami, but back in the day it's one of the best bh dtl shots I've seen.
 
Maybe the haas backhand down the line paying the bills? Dunno as I haven't watched him in Miami, but back in the day it's one of the best bh dtl shots I've seen.

While the bh has been great, note as well also how consistent Haas has been overall in his matches - FH, BH, net play. Even in long rallies from the baseline, he's done well.
 

SwankPeRFection

Hall of Fame
If you watched this match, you'll see how Haas always played his returns at normal to slow pace and only went for high-paced shots when he knew the winner was going to need it. It seemed that Novak likes to play with pace because he can use that pace and just return/push it back. Haas moved him around a whole lot and varied his spin and pace to throw Novak off his normal run around and put things back game plan.

Honestly, this isn't much different than what Fed would play him as, but Fed's problem is that he always goes for too many shots and misses them. Seemed that Haas just worked the points as needed and really just got loopy and wide on some shots and kept them shallow without a lot of pace whereas Fed hit flatter/angled/pacey shots and that ends up right in Novak's hitting zones as he slides around to return the shots.

At least this is what I got/saw in the match.
 

President

Legend
If you watched this match, you'll see how Haas always played his returns at normal to slow pace and only went for high-paced shots when he knew the winner was going to need it. It seemed that Novak likes to play with pace because he can use that pace and just return/push it back. Haas moved him around a whole lot and varied his spin and pace to throw Novak off his normal run around and put things back game plan.

Honestly, this isn't much different than what Fed would play him as, but Fed's problem is that he always goes for too many shots and misses them. Seemed that Haas just worked the points as needed and really just got loopy and wide on some shots and kept them shallow without a lot of pace whereas Fed hit flatter/angled/pacey shots and that ends up right in Novak's hitting zones as he slides around to return the shots.

At least this is what I got/saw in the match.

Yup, Federer often overhits against Djokovic and that can be his undoing. Haas played the points beautifully, with variety and consistency. If he continues playing like this there is no reason he can't beat Ferrer and even Murray too! I'd add that the slice to Djokovic's backhand causes him some real problems, a lot of times he just pops up a short sitter in the middle of the court and that allowed Tommy to take control of the point.
 

West Coast Ace

G.O.A.T.
Was laughing at Chris Fowler hopping on the Haas bandwagon: "definitely a multiple major winner if not for the injuries." Ridiculous. As @Mike Sams and other mentioned, Haas was a mental midget for most of his career (finally, after marriage and having a kid seems to have grown up) - he did have multiple injuries but also had extended periods on tour which were all the same - he'd play great, then hit a few bad shots or get a questionable line call and completely lose his mind - not the type of guy who was a lock to win majors.
 

fundrazer

G.O.A.T.
While the bh has been great, note as well also how consistent Haas has been overall in his matches - FH, BH, net play. Even in long rallies from the baseline, he's done well.

Nice! I'll be pulling for him or Cilic to win Miami.

In regards to Haas being a mental midget...Yeah, all I can think of is the youtube clip of him berating himself during that match with Davydenko.
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Pretty good (and busy) event for the veteran...he's playing the dubs QF with X-man vs Dimitrov/Nielsen as I post.
 
J

JRAJ1988

Guest
Haas was a mental midget? I'm sorry but any player who gets to number 2 in the world, then has to watch his parents fight for their lives after a car crash and take a whole year out is not a mental midget....what an asinine comment....
 

West Coast Ace

G.O.A.T.
Haas was a mental midget? I'm sorry but any player who gets to number 2 in the world, then has to watch his parents fight for their lives after a car crash and take a whole year out is not a mental midget....what an asinine comment....
You obviously don't follow tennis. Or have reading comprehension problems - or both. Those events happened (and no one is taking away from his ability to persevere) - but in between Haas had extended periods on tour in which he was (in)famous for tantrums when things didn't go his way DURING matches (when he wasn't thinking about the tragedies you mentioned). In some ways like JMac, a struggling genius who didn't think he should ever miss. And as opposed to JMac, once Haas started channeling his inner 12 yr old his game went south.
 

Ocean Gypsy

Rookie
Haas was a mental midget? I'm sorry but any player who gets to number 2 in the world, then has to watch his parents fight for their lives after a car crash and take a whole year out is not a mental midget....what an asinine comment....


I agree. Haas definitely had some focus issues, but this had to have been really tough for him. You don't have reading or comprehension problems. The jackass that criticized you does.
 
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