Tommy Haas didn't miss that feeling. The 38 year old, who's embarking on his final comeback, led Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili by a set and a break during their first-round match at the Delray Beach Open on Tuesday. But then Haas' lack of recent match experience struck. Leading 4-3 in the second set, Haas was broken and fell in the 18-point tie-break. Basilashvili cruised in the decider, breaking twice to move into the second round 6-7(4), 7-6(8), 6-2 and end Haas' run in south Florida. “Overall it was good,” Haas said. “It just sucks when you're that close to possibly winning a match and you don't win. I haven't had that feeling in a long time... and it's not a good...
It started out with so much promise. A Twitter post. More than 200 retweets and 700-plus favourites. Catchy nicknames with hashtags to boot: #KevJuan, #AnderDelpo, #DelPAnderson. But, in the end, the powerful combination of Juan Martin del Potro and Kevin Anderson met some unfortunate luck when they tried to make their doubles team debut last October at the If Stockholm Open. Anderson, who dealt with injuries all last season, had to retire from their first-round match after 10 games because of an adductor strain. “Unfortunately that was right when my hip was getting sore and we couldn't finish the match. Nothing really took off. I think we maybe needed to play a few more matches to gain any traction,” Anderson...
Forgive Nikoloz Basilashvili if he looks a little haggard on Monday night when he plays Tommy Haas at the Delray Beach Open. It has been quite the past few weeks for the Georgian 24-year-old. Earlier this month, he ran off three consecutive wins to reach the semi-finals of the Garanti Koza Sofia Open in Bulgaria. In the second round, he improved to 2-1 against Top 10 players by upsetting World No. 8 Dominic Thiem. Basilashvili reached the semi-finals by knocking out five-time ATP World Tour titlist Martin Klizan. The next week brought Basilashvili even closer to his first career ATP World Tour title. At the Memphis Open, he strung together four more wins, including a second-round upset of No. 20...
To hear Tommy Haas say it, the actual tennis – the winning of matches, the hoisting of trophies – is secondary during his latest and final comeback, which continues this week at the Delray Beach Open. The 38 year old, who's coming back after his ninth surgery last April, remains more focused on saying farewell to the places he loves the most and having his oldest daughter watch it all. “I want to finish on my own terms. That's really what it's all about,” Haas told ATP World Tour Uncovered. “I'd like to go back to some of these events that I've had a great time playing at and just say goodbye in my own way and see if I...
1. Akira Santillan is going for his first tour-level win on Monday evening at the Delray Beach Open. The 19-year-old right-hander has played in two other ATP World Tour main draws – 2016 Shenzhen Open and the 2016 Generali Open in Kitzbuhel. Santillan received wild cards into both main draws and lost his openers. This is the first time he's qualified for an ATP World Tour main draw. “Qualifying is a better feeling because you've earned yourself into the main draw... Wild card, you've earned it into the main draw because somebody is trusting you, somebody is giving you the chance to play in the main draw because they believe in you,” Santillan told ATPWorldTour.com. “Two different feelings but for...