Tommy Haas: A Story of Guts, Grace, And An Unsung Victory

It was inevitable that the victory of “home town” boy, Tommy Haas, in Halle this week would be banished to the shadows by the success of Andy Murray in London.

The surging form and fortune of the world No. 3 at the Queen’s tournament has seen British tennis records tumble as Murray strides—bursting with expectation—into the world’s most prestigious tournament. But the media brouhaha over the man who may be the first British Slam winner since Fred Perry has diminished the performance and the character of the German.

Haas has been a player of huge talent since he won his first Master’s title as a 20-year-old, and with each passing month of 2009 he has been showing more and more of the tennis that took him to No. 2 in the world at such a young age.

Now 31, Haas is one of the oldest men in the main draw, but his rise up the rankings must be the envy of many a competitor who could give him ten years: more than 50 places since Easter, 30 of those in the last month.

Halle won his first ever title on grass, so after a dozen years on the professional tour he now has a complete set of wins on all surfaces. What’s more, he beat Novak Djokovic for the first time, and claimed the scalp of world No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga en route to the final.

But the seeds of this success were there for all to see in his outstanding match against Roger Federer in the fourth round of the French Open.

Much of the attention that day, as has happened this week with Djokovic, was on the star of the show: Federer’s weaknesses, mistakes, near loss. But Haas was almost the undoing of Federer as much through the quality of his tennis as any failings in the champion.

Little credit was extended to the man across the net who stood toe to toe with Federer in fitness, serving and blistering ground strokes during that five-set marathon. It took a superhuman effort—and the sort of tennis that went on to win him the title—for Federer to haul himself back into the match and snatch victory.
 
The really gutsy part of the Haas story, however, is the durability and determination that has sustained him during a career of knock-backs.

Haas has been bedevilled by injury. He broke one ankle just as he made the transition from junior to senior status.

Within a year, he broke his other ankle. In the run up to the Sydney Olympics, he suffered a bulging disc in his back but went on to win a silver medal, and was soon second in the world.

His progress was brought to an abrupt halt after a severe accident that nearly claimed the lives of his parents, and left his father in a coma. Haas would spend much of 2002 taking care of his family, and went on to miss most of 2003 when a serious shoulder injury required major surgery.

In 2004, he made a meteoric surge from outside the top 1,000 to No. 17, earning the ATP Comeback Player of the Year award.

In 2005 there was a twisted ankle in the first round of Wimbledon, a wrist injury in 2006, and torn stomach muscles during Wimbledon 2008. More rehabilitation of his troublesome shoulder finally reduced him to an 80s ranking once more.

Such a drop—in his 30th year—might have been the final straw, but that is to underestimate the character of Haas. Here he is, more milestones reached with that Halle victory, and the fastest riser on the ATP ladder.

Haas is a class player, an elegant and attacking shot-maker with a poise and a backhand reminiscent of Federer himself.

Blessed with good looks, an emotional on-court character, and an unquenchable passion for tennis, he is a player to value on many levels. He can even hold his own in the chiseled cheekbone department.

He clearly relishes the prospect of breaking into the top 20 in the autumn of his career. With a good run at Wimbledon—and on the evidence of Halle, Paris and history—there’s certainly no reason to bet against it.

And that’s the story that got submerged by the Murray media storm.

Footnote on completing this piece: a search for photos of Haas at the Halle tournament brought up not a single photo. And an open search for Haas yielded more photos of Roger Federer at Roland Garros than the object of my search.

Quod erat demonstrandum.