Roger Federer may have suffered a shocking upset in his opening round defeat on Wednesday to Tommy Haas at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, but he isn’t ringing alarm bells just yet. Although he squandered a match point in the second-set tie-break in losing to the home favourite, the match was filled with plenty of winners and high-quality hitting. However, Federer said that simply hitting well isn’t satisfying enough without it translating into a win. “Coming here and losing in the semis last year, now the opening round this year, it’s not what I was hoping to do. Especially on grass courts, close to home, in Germany, which has been a good hunting ground for me. It’s not good enough,”...
The last time Tommy Haas found himself embracing Roger Federer on court after a tour-level match was in March this year, as he presented his close friend with the BNP Paribas Open trophy in his capacity as the new Indian Wells Tournament Director. So when the 39-year-old German saved a match point in Stuttgart Wednesday to hand Federer his first opening-round loss at a grass-court event since 2002 Wimbledon, his celebration was more subdued, tempered of course by the respect for his friend, but also by the broader perspective his evolving career has brought. Asked how he would feel if Federer were to lose in the opening round of his tournament, Haas joked: “It would really suck. I understand it...
It's not often that a 39 year old beats the World No. 5, but that's precisely what happened when former World No. 2 Tommy Haas upset Roger Federer 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 on Wednesday during the second round of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. The win, Haas' fourth over the all-time great in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, also marks the German's second victory against Federer on grass in as many matches. Haas also beat Federer in the 2012 Gerry Weber Open final. [ALSO LIKE] Want to know more? Here are seven more things to know about the unexpected result, which Haas called, “obviously one of my career highlights.” 1. Haas is the third player to beat Federer twice on grass, joining Novak...
After nearly eight months out with a groin injury. John Millman is back and looks to restore his winning ways at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Nottingham. The Aussie, celebrating his 28th birthday on Wednesday (June 14), returned to competition last month and has been getting better with each tournament. Millman lost in the opening round of his first two events, but won a match last week at the Surbiton Challenger and is now through to the second round in Nottingham after a win on Tuesday over Hiroki Moriya of Japan. “Coming back from injury is brutal, but I’m progressing pretty well. I was out for so long, so it’s just about trying to stay patient and getting a...