Federer says defeat to Haas didn’t shock him
Roger Federer insisted he was not shocked by his defeat to 39-year-old Tommy Haas at the Stuttgart grass court tournament on Wednesday in his first match after almost three months out of action. Haas, a former world No 2 but now down at 302, won 2-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 for just his fourth victory in 17 meetings against his close friend.
Federer, building up for an assault on an eighth Wimbledon title, hadn’t played since March, skipping the entire clay court season. It was just the second defeat of 2017 for the 35-year-old, who claimed the Australian Open for his 18th major in January.
“I’m not so shocked to have lost. I knew I could lose against Tommy,” said Federer. “He was so good at the end and if I am happy for anybody, then it’s for Tommy.”
With a combined age of 74, it was the oldest match on the tour since 1982 as Haas, on a farewell to the sport in 2017, made his first quarterfinal since Rome in 2014.
Federer also held match point in his only other defeat this year
FEDERER, BUILDING UP FOR AN ASSAULT ON AN 8TH WIMBLEDON TITLE, HADN’T PLAYED SINCE MARCH, SKIPPING THE CLAY COURT SEASON
to Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy in Dubai. “It’s always special to play a close friend like Roger on grass, always lots of emotion,” said Haas, who has undergone nine surgeries in his career to mend a number of ailments.
“I saved a match point in the second set so was able to play more freely after that. I even shocked myself.”
Haas is the oldest player to beat a top five opponent since Jimmy Connors, at 39 years and five months old, defeated Michael Stich in Memphis in 1992.
He is also the lowest-ranked player to beat Federer since number 407 Bjorn Phau at Washington in 1999.
Haas will next face compatriot Mischa Zverev who beat qualifier and fellow German Yannick Hanfmann 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 in 83 minutes.
MARIA GETS INVITE
Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova has received an invitation to play at the WTA Stanford tournament at the end of next month as the Russian star continues her return from a doping suspension.
Sharapova’s comeback from a 15-month doping ban will include a stop at Stanford University for the July 31-August 6 event, organisers announced on Wednesday.
RADICAL CHANGES
World No 1Andy Murray has voiced his support for changes designed to speed up tennis being tested at the inaugural Next Generation ATP Finals in Milan this November.
The tournament for the leading tour players aged 21 and under will feature a new scoring system, no lets, limited medical time-outs and shot clocks as the men’s governing body seeks ways to appeal to younger audiences.
The scoring system is the most radical change to the traditional format, with five-set matches decided through first-to-fourgame sets, instead of the usual six, with tiebreaks played at 3-3.