Tommy Haas

Tommy Haas

Haas at the 2011 US Open
Country	Germany
Residence	Bradenton, Florida, United States
Born	3 April 1978 (1978-04-03) Hamburg, Germany
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	88 kg (190 lb; 13.9 st)
Turned pro	1996
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$10,183,259
Singles
Career record	469–267
Career titles	12
Highest ranking	No. 2 (May 13, 2002)
Current ranking	No. 170 (January 30, 2012)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	SF (1999, 2002, 2007)
French Open	4R (2002, 2009)
Wimbledon	SF (2009)
US Open	QF (2004, 2006, 2007)
Olympic Games	Silver Medal (2000)
Doubles
Career record	53–60
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 127 (18 February 2002)
Current ranking	No. 409 (28 November 2011)
Grand Slam Doubles results
US Open	1R (2005)
Last updated on: 28 November 2011.

Tommy Haas (born 3 April 1978 as Thomas Mario Haas) is a German and recently naturalized American professional tennis player. He has competed on the ATP Tour since 1996. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high ranking of world no. 2 on 13 May 2002, Haas's career has been interrupted by injuries: whilst a professional, he has twice dropped out of the world rankings due to being inactive for twelve months. His first period of injury saw him miss the whole of the 2003 season, and he did not return to the world's top ten until 2007. He also missed over a year's tennis between February 2010 and June 2011, but has since returned to play on the Tour.

Haas has never won a Grand Slam tournament, his best result being the semi-finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He has won thirteen career titles in singles and doubles, including one Masters tournament, and has a silver medal from the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Playing equipment

His equipment include Solfire, Lacoste and Nike for his clothes and shoes, respectively. He switched to using Head racquets in 2009 after using Dunlop Sport racquets for most of his career.

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 Bradenton, Florida for free. At 13, speaking little English, Haas moved to Florida to begin training at the academy.

Professional career

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.

2001–2004

Haas at the public training for the World Team Cup in Düsseldorf, Germany, 2005

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, finishing 2001 as number 8 in the world and therefore only missing out on playing in the season-ending Masters Cup because of Goran Ivanišević's Wimbledon triumph, which meant Ivanišević took the eight and final spot. Haas was quickly rising to the top of the tennis ranks when his career was suddenly halted at no. 2 in the world by a tragic and severe accident that nearly claimed the lives of Haas's parents, leaving his father in a coma. Haas spent 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 was plagued by further injuries and related complications afterwards, and did not return to professional tennis fully until 2004. Before his parents' accident and his injuries, he had an impressive record against notable former, current, and future no. 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 won two more ATP titles in his return year of 2004, while trying to gain back his form.

2006

In 2006, Haas won three ATP Tournaments and put on an impressive performance at the 2006 U.S. Open, making it to the quarterfinals, 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 semifinals. 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 semifinal run to Dominik Hrbatý with health problems and did not play again for the rest of the year.

2007

In 2007, Haas, with his trademark long hair now cut short, had battled his way to his third Australian Open semifinal, which included intense matches against David Nalbandian and a five-set quarterfinal rematch against Nikolay Davydenko. He lost his semifinal 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 for 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 second player who has won three 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 quarterfinals 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 thirteenth seed (10th-ranked), not known for being much of a grass courter, advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time, defeating Zack Fleishman, Tomáš Zíb, and no. 21 seed Dmitry Tursunov. Unfortunately, this run came to an end after he suffered a torn abdominal muscle and had to withdraw a day before playing Roger Federer.

At the 2007 U.S. Open, Haas equaled his best result in New York by reaching the quarterfinals with thrilling five-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 three-set loss to Nikolay Davydenko.

2008

Haas at the 2006 Cincinnati Masters

In the first half of 2008, Haas was derailed by injuries, causing him to miss both the Australian Open and the 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 quarterfinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, defeating Andy Murray in three sets. He was then forced to withdraw from his quarterfinal match against Roger Federer due to injury.

He reached the third round at Wimbledon with a four-set win over Guillermo Cañas and a straight-set win over 23rd seed Tommy Robredo. He then fell to Andy Murray in four sets, 4–6, 7–6, 3–6, 2–6.

In the hard-court season, he got to the semifinals 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 no. 1 Carlos Moyà, and then lost to Nikolay Davydenko in the second round. At the US Open, he beat twelfth seed Richard Gasquet in five tough sets, 6–7, 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, 3–6, 3–6.

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 a decent run, easily beating Eduardo Schwank in the first Round and Flavio Cipolla in the second. In the third round, he fell to the tournament's first seed and eventual champion Rafael Nadal, 4–6, 2–6, 2–6.

Haas at the 2009 French Open

At the SAP Open in San Jose, he joined forces with Czech Radek Štěpánek to clinch his first-ever doubles title, after losing in the singles quarterfinals to defending champion Andy Roddick.

Haas lost in the first round in both Memphis and Delray Beach. He did not succeed in defending his title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, as he fell to Novak Djokovic in third round, 2–6, 6–7, after defeating Óscar Hernández and Rainer Schüttler. He suffered another failure in the Miami Masters, losing to Mikhail Kukushkin.

In Houston, Texas, at the River Oaks Mens Clay Championship, Haas was defeated by Björn Phau in the quarterfinals, after he defeated defending champion Marcel Granollers in the second round.

As a qualifier in Madrid, he defeated Ernests Gulbis, 6–2, 5–7, 7–5, before he lost to Andy Roddick.

Resurgence

At the 2009 French Open, Haas matched his best result since 2002. He defeated Andrei Pavel in straight sets, and then won a five-setter, 6–3, 7–6, 3–6, 4–6, 6–3, against Leonardo Mayer. After defeating Jérémy Chardy in the third round, Haas was narrowly defeated by the former world no. 1 and eventual champion Roger Federer, 7–6, 7–5, 4–6, 0–6, 2–6 in the fourth round. At a crucial stage of the third set, Haas was only five 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 three sets.

At the Gerry Weber Open in Germany, Haas won 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 quarterfinals, and Philipp Kohlschreiber in the semifinals. He defeated the tournament's second seed Novak Djokovic, 6–3, 6–7, 6–1, in the final.

This victory made Haas one of a very select group of players to have won ATP titles on all three major surfaces (grass, clay, and hard courts.) With Haas' success at this tournament and at the French Open, his ranking rose to no. 35.

At Wimbledon, Haas won a memorable five-set match against Marin Čilić. Haas was up two sets to love and had match points in the fourth set, then had to save two match points serving at 5–6 before the match was suspended due to darkness after over four hours of play, at 6–6 in the fifth. The next day, Haas broke Cilic at 8–8 and eventually held on to win, 7–5, 7–5, 1–6, 6–7, 10–8. Haas then comfortably defeated Igor Andreev, 7–6, 6–4, 6–4, to reach the quarterfinals. There, he defeated Novak Djokovic, 7–5, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3, for the second time in three weeks to reach the semifinals at the Wimbledon for the first time in his career, where he faced Roger Federer in a rematch of their encounter in Paris. Haas lost, 6–7, 5–7, 3–6, ensuring Federer's historic seventh Wimbledon final. This success at Wimbledon made Haas rise considerably in ATP ranking, reaching no. 19.

Haas continued his late career resurgence by making it to the semifinals at the LA Tennis Open by defeating Marat Safin in the quarterfinals, 7–6, 6–2. But with "The Samurai" fans behind Sam Querrey at home, Haas was defeated, 3–6, 5–7. He made it to the third round at the U.S. Open, losing narrowly to Fernando Verdasco, 3–6, 7–5, 7–6, 1–6, 6–4, after being up a break in each set.

Since 2010

Since the 2010 Australian Open, Haas has once again struggled with injury. He reached the third round in Australia, defeating Simon Greul and Janko Tipsarević, but did not play between after February 2010, spending time recovering from right hip and right shoulder surgeries. He returned to action partnering Radek Štěpánek in doubles in Munich in May 2011, but they lost in the first round. His return match in singles came at the 2011 French Open, where he lost in Round One. He also went down in the first round at Wimbledon, but reached the third round of the 2011 US Open, losing to Juan Mónaco in four sets, 7–6(3), 3–6, 2–6, 3–6. Outside of the Grand Slams he played little tennis, competing in only ten other tournaments, mainly in July, August and October.

Haas began the 2012 season at the Brisbane International, but had to withdraw in the second round.

Personal life

Haas was born to Brigitte and Peter Haas. He has two sisters, Sabine (born 24 April 1975) and Karin (born 16 June 1979).

Haas is married to actress Sara Foster. On 27 January 2010, Haas became a United States citizen.

On 5 July 2010, Haas announced on his website that he would become a father for the first time. And on 15 November 2010, Haas announced on his website that his wife Sara had given birth to a baby girl, Valentina. He says he wants to remain playing long enough for his daughter to watch him play.

Finals

Olympic finals

Singles: 1 (1 silver medal)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Silver	2000	Sydney Olympics	Hard	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	6–7(4–7), 6–3, 2–6, 6–4, 3–6

Masters Series finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2001	Stuttgart	Hard (i)	Max Mirnyi	6–2, 6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	2002	Rome	Clay	Andre Agassi	6–3, 6–3, 6–0

Career finals

Singles: 21 (12–9)

Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0)
Grand Slam Cup (0–1)
Olympic Silver Medal (1)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (1–1)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (4–2)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (7–4)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	13 October 1997	Lyon, France	Hard (i)	Fabrice Santoro	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	2.	19 October 1998	Lyon, France	Hard (i)	Àlex Corretja	6–2, 6–7(6–8), 1–6
Runner-up	3.	11 January 1999	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Sjeng Schalken	4–6, 4–6
Winner	1.	15 February 1999	Memphis, United States	Hard	Jim Courier	6–4, 6–1
Runner-up	4.	19 July 1999	Stuttgart, Germany	Clay	Magnus Norman	7–6(8–6), 6–4, 6–7(7–9), 0–6, 3–6
Runner-up	5.	17 September 1999	Grand Slam Cup, Munich, Germany	Carpet	Greg Rusedski	3–6, 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(5–7)
Runner-up	6.	1 May 2000	Munich, Germany	Clay	Franco Squillari	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	7.	18 September 2000	Summer Olympics, Sydney, Australia	Hard	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	6–7(4–7), 6–3, 2–6, 6–4, 3–6
Runner-up	8.	9 October 2000	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Tim Henman	4–6, 4–6, 4–6
Winner	2.	1 January 2001	Adelaide, Australia	Hard	Nicolás Massú	6–3, 6–1
Winner	3.	20 August 2001	Long Island, U.S.	Hard	Pete Sampras	6–3, 3–6, 6–2
Winner	4.	8 October 2001	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Guillermo Cañas	6–2, 7–6(8–6), 6–4
Winner	5.	15 October 2001	Stuttgart, Germany	Hard (i)	Max Mirnyi	6–2, 6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	9.	6 May 2002	Rome, Italy	Clay	Andre Agassi	3–6, 3–6, 0–6
Winner	6.	12 April 2004	Houston, U.S.	Clay	Andy Roddick	6–3, 6–4
Winner	7.	12 July 2004	Los Angeles, U.S.	Hard	Nicolas Kiefer	7–6(8–6), 6–4
Winner	8.	5 February 2006	Delray Beach, U.S.	Hard	Xavier Malisse	6–3, 3–6, 7–6(7–5)
Winner	9.	25 February 2006	Memphis, U.S.	Hard (i)	Robin Söderling	6–3, 6–2
Winner	10.	24 July 2006	Los Angeles, U.S.	Hard	Dmitry Tursunov	4–6, 7–5, 6–3
Winner	11.	25 February 2007	Memphis, U.S.	Hard (i)	Andy Roddick	6–2, 6–3
Winner	12.	14 June 2009	Halle, Germany	Grass	Novak Djokovic	6–3, 6–7(4–7), 6–1

Doubles: 1 (1–0)

Legend
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponent in the final	Score
Winner	1.	9 February 2009	San Jose, California, United States	Hard (i)	Radek Štěpánek	Rohan Bopanna Jarkko Nieminen	6–2, 6–3

Singles Performance Timeline

Tournament	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	SR	W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	1R	SF	2R	2R	SF	A	A	2R	4R	SF	A	3R	3R	A	2R	0 / 11	26–11
French Open	A	A	1R	3R	3R	2R	4R	A	1R	3R	3R	A	A	4R	A	1R		0 / 10	15–10
Wimbledon	A	2R	3R	3R	3R	1R	A	A	2R	1R	3R	4R	3R	SF	A	1R		0 / 12	20–11
US Open	1R	3R	2R	4R	2R	4R	4R	A	QF	3R	QF	QF	2R	3R	A	3R		0 / 14	32–14
Win–Loss	0–1	3–2	3–4	12–4	6–4	5–4	11–3	0–0	5–3	5–4	11–4	12–2	3–2	12–4	2–1	2–3	1–1	0 / 47	93–46
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters	A	LQ	3R	1R	3R	2R	2R	A	4R	2R	4R	QF	QF	3R	A	A		0 / 11	19–10
Miami Masters	A	3R	2R	2R	3R	4R	3R	A	1R	3R	3R	2R	A	1R	A	A		0 / 10	9–9
Monte Carlo Masters	A	A	A	2R	1R	3R	QF	A	2R	A	A	A	1R	A	A	A		0 / 6	7–6
Rome Masters	LQ	2R	3R	A	1R	2R	F	A	1R	1R	1R	1R	A	A	A	A		0 / 9	9–9
Madrid Masters	LQ	1R	2R	3R	1R	W	2R	A	3R	2R	3R	2R	A	2R	A	A		1 / 11	12–10
Canada Masters	A	2R	3R	3R	A	SF	SF	A	1R	A	2R	3R	2R	2R	A	1R		0 / 11	17–11
Cincinnati Masters	LQ	2R	3R	3R	A	2R	1R	A	QF	1R	3R	1R	3R	1R	A	1R		0 / 12	13–12
Shanghai	Not Held									Not Masters Series				2R	A	A		0 / 1	1–1
Paris Masters	LQ	AA	3R	QF	2R	SF	3R	A	3R	3R	SF	3R	A	2R	A	A		0 / 10	16–10
Hamburg Masters	LQ	SF	2R	QF	1R	2R	3R	A	2R	1R	1R	A	A	NMS				0 / 9	12–9
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics	A	Not Held			F	Not Held			2R	Not Held			A	Not Held				0 / 2	6–2
Year-End Ranking	170	45	34	12	23	8	11	–	17	45	11	12	82	17	372	205

LQ = lost in the qualifying draw

External links

• Official website
• Tommy Haas at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Haas Recent Match Results
• Haas World Ranking History
• Profile, Results and Statistics