Tommy Haas
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Thomas Mario "Tommy" Haas (born 3 April 1978) is a German professional tennis player who reached a career-high ranking of World No.2 in May 2002.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Early life
Born in Hamburg, Germany to Brigitte and Peter Haas, Haas started playing his own version of tennis when he was two years old, by using a wooden plank to hit balls against the wall or into his father's hands. When his father noticed his talents, he started bringing Haas to work, as he happened to be a tennis coach.
At five years of age, Haas won his first youth tournament, in Hamburg. At eight years old, he won his second, in Munich. Between eleven and thirteen, Haas would twice win the Austrian Championship, the German Championship, and the European Championship.
Haas's talents were noted by world renowned tennis guru Nick Bollettieri. Nick was so impressed by the young German's talent that he offered Haas the chance to stay and train at his Bollettieri Academy in Florida for free. At 13, speaking little English, Haas moved to Florida to begin training at the academy.
[edit] 1996–2000
In 1996, Haas became a professional tennis player. He gained attention as a future tennis star when he won his first ATP title in 1999 and managed to make it to the semi-finals of the Australian Open and was a finalist in the Grand Slam Cup. The following year he won a silver medal in the Sydney Olympics.
[edit] 2001–2004
In 2001, he began to make even greater strides in his tennis career by winning four ATP titles, including his first ATP Master's title. Haas was quickly rising to the top of the tennis ranks when his career would be suddenly halted at #2 in the world, after a tragic and severe accident that nearly claimed the lives of Haas's parents, leaving his father in a coma. Haas would spend much of the 2002 year taking care of his family instead of playing tennis. At the end of the lay-off from tennis because of his parent's accident, he seriously injured his shoulder, requiring a major operation. He would be plagued by further injuries and related complications afterwards, and would not return to professional tennis fully until 2004. Before his parents' accident and various injuries and related complications, he had an impressive record against notable former, current, and future #1 ranked players: 3–0 against Andy Roddick, 5–5 against Pete Sampras, 2–1 against Roger Federer, 2–1 against Marat Safin, and 2–0 against Jim Courier. Haas would win two more ATP titles in his return year of 2004, while trying to gain back his form.
[edit] 2006
In 2006 he won three ATP Tournaments and would put on an impressive performance at the 2006 U.S. Open, making it to the quarter-finals where he was knocked out by Nikolay Davydenko, despite having been up two sets. Haas began having severe cramps in his legs in the third set, and from then on his limited mobility on the court perhaps cost him the remaining three sets and a match in the semi-finals. During the match he was visibly disturbed, repeatedly hitting his legs with his racquet, frustrated at the cramps.
At the end of the year he had to win the Paris Masters to qualify for the Masters Cup, the ATP year-end finale. He lost after a semi-final run to Dominik Hrbatý with health problems and did not play again for the rest of the year.
[edit] 2007
In 2007, Haas, with his trademark long hair now cut short, had battled his way to his third Australian Open semi-final, which included intense matches against David Nalbandian and a five-set quarterfinal rematch against Nikolay Davydenko. He lost his semi-final match against first-time Grand Slam finalist Fernando González from Chile in straight sets. Despite this loss Haas returned to the Top 10 of the world rankings for the first time since 2002.
On 25 February, at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Haas stopped Andy Roddick's quest in the final, winning 6–3, 6–2. This was the first time Haas had won a title without facing a single break point in any of his matches, as well as the first time he has won titles in consecutive seasons. Haas is also only the 2nd player who has won 3 titles at Memphis, the other being Jimmy Connors, who won in 1979, 1983, and 1984. Haas has not lost a final since losing to Andre Agassi in the 2002 Rome Masters.
Haas reached the quarter-finals of the Pacific Life Open, an ATP Masters Series tournament held in Indian Wells, California, where he lost to Scotland's Andy Murray in a third-set tiebreaker. in the 2007 ATP Champion's Race. Haas, the #13 seed (10th-ranked), not known for being much of a grass courter, has advanced to the 4th round of Wimbledon for the first time in 2007, defeating Zack Fleishman, Tomas Zib, and #21 seed Dmitry Tursunov. Unfortunately, this run came to an end after he suffered a torn abdominal muscle and he had to withdraw a day before playing Federer.
At the 2007 U.S. Open, Haas equaled his best result in New York by reaching the quarter-finals with thrilling 5 set wins over Sébastien Grosjean and James Blake. He beat Blake 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–0, 7–6, saving match points. His run ended, however, with a 3-set loss to Nikolay Davydenko.
[edit] 2008
In the first half of 2008, Haas was derailed by injuries, causing him to miss both the Australian Open and French Open. This dropped him significantly in the rankings as he was unable to back up his semifinal performance at the Australian Open the year before. He made it to the quarters of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, defeating Andy Murray in 3 sets. He was then forced to withdraw from his quarterfinal match against Federer due to injury.
He reached the third round of Wimbledon with a four set win over Guillermo Cañas and a straight set win over #23 seed Tommy Robredo. He then fell to Andy Murray in four sets 4–6, 7–6(4), 3–6, 2–6.
In the hard court season, he got to the semi-finals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. but was steamrolled by the red-hot Juan Martín del Potro 6–2, 6–1.At the Rogers Cup in Toronto he beat former world number one Carlos Moyà and then lost to Nikolay Davydenko in the second round. At the US Open he beat #12 seed Richard Gasquet in five tough sets, 6–7(3), 6–4, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2. He then fell to Gilles Müller of Luxembourg in five sets despite cruising in the first two sets. He lost 6–2, 6–2, 6–7(5), 3–6, 3–6.
[edit] 2009
At the beginning of the new season, Haas pulled out of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open due to elbow problems. However, he appeared in Kooyong Exhibition game where he beat Mardy Fish 7–6, 6–3.
At the 2009 Australian Open, Haas had decent run beating easily Eduardo Schwank in the 1st Round and Flavio Cipolla in the 2nd. In the 3rd Round, he fell to the tournament's #1 seed and eventual champion Rafael Nadal with a score of 4–6, 2–6, 2–6.
At the SAP Open in San Jose, he joined forces with Czech Radek Stepanek to clinch his first-ever doubles title after losing in the quarter-finals to defending champion Andy Roddick.
In Memphis, he fell early in the 1st Round to Sam Querrey 6–7 4–6. As in Memphis,Tommy also didn't have any luck as he fell in another 1st Round match to Jérémy Chardy 6–7 4–6 at Delray Beach. Haas didn't succeed to defend the quarter-finals of BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells as he fell to Novak Djokovic in 3rd Round 2–6 6–7, after defeating Óscar Hernández and Rainer Schüttler. Another failure in Miami Masters,as Tommy lost to Mikhail Kukushkin 4–6 4–6.
In Houston, Texas, at the River Oaks Mens Clay Championship Quarter Final, Haas was defeated by Bjorn Phau; 3–6, 6–3, 3–6. In the 2nd Round, Tommy managed to defeat the defending champion Marcel Granollers. In Madrid, at the 2009 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Tommy successfully played qualies to enter the main draw. In the first Round, he defeated Ernests Gulbis 6–2 5–7 7–5, while falling in the 2nd Round to Andy Roddick 6–1 6–7 4–6 in a very close match.
[edit] Resurgence
At the 2009 French Open, Haas achieved his best result at the French Open. He defeated Andrei Pavel in straight sets, and then won a five-setter against Leonardo Mayer. After defeating Jérémy Chardy in the third round, Haas was narrowly defeated by the former world No.1 and eventual Roland Garros champion Roger Federer; 7–6(7–4), 7–5, 4–6, 0–6, 2–6 in the 4th Round Match. At a crucial stage of the 3rd set, Haas was only 5 points away from his biggest win in clay, unable to convert the break point the score leveled to 4–4, Federer overturned the match after this break, winning the last 3 sets.
At the Gerry Weber Open in Germany, Haas was able to win his first title on grass in his 21st ATP World Tour final. In the process, he defeated fourth-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round, Mischa Zverev in the quarter-finals and Philipp Kohlschreiber in the semi-finals. He defeated the tournament's #2 seed Novak Djokovic 6–3, 6–7(4), 6–1 in the final.[1] With Haas' recent success at this tournament and at the French Open, his ranking is now #35.
At Wimbledon, Haas won a memorable five-set match against Marin Cilic. Haas was up two sets to love and had match points in the fourth set, but the match was subsequently suspended due to darkness after over four hours of play, at 6–6 in the fifth. Haas had to save two match points serving at 5–6 before the match was suspended. The next day, Haas broke Cilic at 8–8 and eventually held on to win, 7–5, 7–5, 1–6, 6–7(3), 10–8. Haas then comfortably defeated Igor Andreev 7–6(8), 6–4, 6–4 to reach the quarterfinals and then defeated Novak Djokovic 7–5, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3 for the second time in three weeks to reach the semi-finals at the All England Club for the first time in his career, where he faced Roger Federer in a rematch of their encounter in Paris. He lost to Federer 6–7(3),5–7, 3–6 ensuring Federer's historic 7th Wimbledon Final. These recent successes at Wimbledon have made the ATP ranking of Haas rise considerably, as he has risen to #19.
[edit] Personal life
Haas was born to Brigitte and Peter Haas. He has two sisters: Sabine (b. 24 April 1975) and Karin (16 June 1979). He is engaged to actress Sara Foster.
[edit] Major finals
[edit] Olympic finals
[edit] Singles: 1 (1 silver medal)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Silver | 2000 | Sydney Olympics | Hard | 6–7(4), 6–3, 2–6, 6–4, 3–6 |
[edit] Masters Series finals
[edit] Singles: 2 (1–1)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Winner | 2001 | Stuttgart | Hard (i) | 6–2, 6–2, 6–2 | |
| Runner-up | 2002 | Rome | Clay | 6–3, 6–3, 6–0 |
[edit] Career finals
[edit] Singles: 21 (12–9)
- Wins (12)
| Legend (pre/post 2009) |
| Grand Slam Tournaments (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (0) |
| ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (1) |
| ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (4) |
| ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (7) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | 15 February 1999 | Memphis, United States | Hard | 6–4, 6–1 | |
| 2. | 1 January 2001 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard | 6–3, 6–1 | |
| 3. | 20 August 2001 | Long Island, U.S. | Hard | 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 | |
| 4. | 8 October 2001 | Vienna, Austria | Hard (i) | 6–2, 7–6, 6–4 | |
| 5. | 15 October 2001 | Stuttgart, Germany | Hard (i) | 6–2, 6–2, 6–2 | |
| 6. | 12 April 2004 | Houston, U.S. | Clay | 6–3, 6–4 | |
| 7. | 12 July 2004 | Los Angeles, U.S. | Hard | 7–6, 6–4 | |
| 8. | 5 February 2006 | Delray Beach, U.S. | Hard | 6–3, 3–6, 7–6 | |
| 9. | 25 February 2006 | Memphis, U.S. | Hard (i) | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| 10. | 24 July 2006 | Los Angeles, U.S. | Hard | 4–6, 7–5, 6–3 | |
| 11. | 25 February 2007 | Memphis, U.S. | Hard (i) | 6–2, 6–3 | |
| 12. | 14 June 2009 | Halle, Germany | Grass | 6–3, 6–7(4), 6–1 |
- Runner-ups (9)
| Legend (pre/post 2009) |
| Grand Slam Tournaments (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (0) |
| Grand Slam Cup (1) |
| Olympic Silver Medal (1) |
| ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (1) |
| ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (2) |
| ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (4) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | 13 October 1997 | Lyon, France | Hard (i) | 4–6, 4–6 | |
| 2. | 19 October 1998 | Lyon, France | Hard (i) | 6–2, 6–7(6), 1–6 | |
| 3. | 11 January 1999 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | 4–6, 4–6 | |
| 4. | 19 July 1999 | Stuttgart, Germany | Clay | 7–6(6), 6–4, 6–7(7), 0–6, 3–6 | |
| 5. | 27 September 1999 | Grand Slam Cup, Munich, Germany | Carpet | 3–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–7 | |
| 6. | 1 May 2000 | Munich, Germany | Clay | 4–6, 4–6 | |
| 7. | 18 September 2000 | Summer Olympics, Sydney, Australia | Hard | 6–7(4), 6–3, 2–6, 6–4, 3–6 | |
| 8. | 9 October 2000 | Vienna, Austria | Hard (i) | 4–6, 4–6, 4–6 | |
| 9. | 6 May 2002 | Rome, Italy | Clay | 3–6, 3–6, 0–6 |
[edit] Doubles
- Win (1)
| Legend |
| ATP World Tour 250 Series (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 9 February 2009 | San José, United States | Hard (i) | 6–2, 6–3 |
[edit] Singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Career WR | Career win–loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slams | ||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | 1R | SF | 2R | 2R | SF | A | A | 2R | 4R | SF | A | 3R | 0 / 9 | 23–9 |
| French Open | A | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 4R | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | A | A | 4R | 0 / 9 | 15–9 |
| Wimbledon | A | 2R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 1R | A | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 4R | 3R | SF | 0 / 11 | 20–10 |
| US Open | 1R | 3R | 2R | 4R | 2R | 4R | 4R | A | QF | 3R | QF | QF | 2R | 0 / 12 | 28–12 | |
| Year-End Championship | ||||||||||||||||
| ATP World Tour Finals | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | ||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | 3R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | A | 4R | 2R | 4R | QF | QF | 3R | 0 / 11 | 19–10 |
| Miami Masters | A | 3R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 4R | 3R | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | 2R | A | 1R | 0 / 10 | 9–9 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | QF | A | 2R | A | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | 7–6 |
| Rome Masters | A | 2R | 3R | A | 1R | 2R | F | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 9 | 9–9 |
| Madrid Masters | A | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | W | 2R | A | 3R | 2R | 3R | 2R | A | 2R | 1 / 11 | 12–10 |
| Canada Masters | A | 2R | 3R | 3R | A | SF | SF | A | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 0 / 9 | 16–9 | |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | 2R | 3R | 3R | A | 2R | 1R | A | QF | 1R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 0 / 10 | 13–10 | |
| Shanghai | Not Held | Not Masters Series | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | ||||||||||||
| Paris Masters | A | A | 3R | QF | 2R | SF | 3R | A | 3R | 3R | SF | 3R | A | 0 / 9 | 15–9 | |
| Hamburg Masters | A | SF | 2R | QF | 1R | 2R | 3R | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | A | NMS | 0 / 9 | 12–9 |
| Olympic Games | ||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | A | NH | NH | NH | F | NH | NH | NH | 2R | NH | NH | NH | A | 0 / 2 | 6–2 | |
| End of Year Ranking | ||||||||||||||||
| 170 | 45 | 34 | 12 | 23 | 8 | 11 | – | 17 | 45 | 11 | 12 | 82 | N/A | |||
[edit] References
- ^ "Haas beats Djokovic to win title". BBC Sport. 2009-06-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8099645.stm. Retrieved on 2009-06-15.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Tommy Haas at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Haas Recent Match Results
- Haas World Ranking History
- Profile, Results and Statistics

