Haas Uses Power, Control to Eliminate Berdych

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
The New York Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

Two years ago, Tommy Haas was ranked second in the world. He was 23 years old and had all the makings of a future Grand Slam champion: a huge serve, a beautiful one-handed backhand, fast feet, and good looks to boot. Then everything fell apart.


Haas’s parents, visiting their son in Florida, got into a near deadly motorcycle accident. His father was in a coma for three weeks and his legs were crushed. His mother still has trouble with her shoulder.


Six months later, Haas underwent rotator cuff surgery. Another shoulder operation to repair a tendon forced him to miss the entire 2003 season. During last year’s U.S. Open, Haas watched from the couch and wondered when – or if – he would play top-level tennis again.


Those months away from the game were a sobering period for the often intense Haas, who had been prone to ball-kicking temper tantrums on the court. His parents’ accident put tennis in perspective.


“When I saw what they went through, my shoulder surgery is basically nothing,” Haas said recently.


These days, Haas’s parents have learned to live with their disabilities, and Haas’s shoulder can once again pound 122 mph serves without pain. The German took another step back toward the top yesterday by advancing to his first U.S. Open quarterfinal with a 7-6(6), 6-2, 7-5 victory over Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.


The win gives the unseeded Haas a chance to take on the tour’s hottest player, Lleyton Hewitt, who also advanced yesterday.


“He’s not going to beat himself,” Haas said of Hewitt, who has won five of their nine meetings. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now, too, so it’s going to be tough.”


Berdych, who beat Roger Federer at the Olympics, had a nice run at the Open, but he was too inconsistent against Haas yesterday. The 18-yearold, a lean, long-armed player who stands 6-foot-4, showed a strong serve, decent hands at the net, and a penetrating, flat forehand. His footwork, however, was suspect at times, and he misfired on some short returns that should have been struck for winners.


Berdych was up a break in the first set but could not hold it, and he lost five straight points in the tiebreak after taking a 6-3 lead. At 6-5, he had a sitter in his sights at mid court for the set. He wound up his forehand and whacked the ball into the net.


“That was the key to the whole match,” Berdych said. “If you make the first set, your confidence is higher. I lost the first set and everything changed.”


For the match, Berdych made 41 unforced errors compared to only 10 for Haas. Haas also knocked off 40 winners, an impressive number considering his accuracy.


Berdych said he was tired after playing two five-set matches in previous rounds. But he can take solace in a strong summer, during which he beat top-50 players five out of six times coming into the Open. If he adds a little more muscle and learns to make fewer mistakes, he could have a promising future.


“He plays huge from the baseline and has a huge first serve,” said Haas, who played well behind the baseline throughout the match. Otherwise, Haas said, “He would have overpowered me.”


Hewitt had an even easier time yesterday against Karol Beck of Slovakia, winning 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Hewitt has not lost a set in the tournament so far, though Haas will be his biggest test yet.


“Tommy is a class player,” Hewitt said. “I’ve got to do small things maybe a little bit different against Tommy than you do against guys ranked 50 or something in the world. He’s a class player who’s been in the top five.”


Hewitt did not have to do much against Beck, other than keep the ball in play and attack his second serve. Beck double-faulted seven times and made twice as many unforced errors, 38, as winners, 19.


“Today it was not really my day,” he said. “It was easy to beat me.”


Beck said he liked Hewitt’s chances of reaching the semifinals against Andy Roddick. He also said he was surprised at the strength of Hewitt’s serve, something other players have noticed this summer and at the Open.


“I think his serve is better than Haas’s,” Beck said. “I was thinking before his serve is not that big. I was surprised.”

The New York Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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