TennisToday

Novak Djokovic Thru to Quarterfinals at Wimbledon

Wimbledon - Men's Fourth Round

1 Novak Djokovic d 13 Tommy Haas - 61 64 76(4)

Novak is thru to his 25th Slam Qf (17th straight): 19-5.

Remember he is looking for a 2nd title at SW19 to add to his 2011 trophy.

He will have a tough Qf against 7 Tomas Berdych - H2H: 13-2.

That may not seem too tough but consider the 2 losses.

Their most recent was a Berdych win in Rome this year.

And the other loss was their only match on grass: Sf here at Wimby in '10.

Post match: I lost to him the only time we played on grass back in 2010.

I think that I am playing really, really good tennis at this moment.

Maybe even better than 2011, when I won this tournament.

I am confident on the court and trying to maintain this level.

I hope I will succeed.

***

Considering this has been an upset riddled Wimby - nothing is certain.

Photo: From Novak's Facebook just days before the start of Wimbledon.

Roger Federer Wins 1st Title of 2013 at Halle

Halle ATP 250 - Men's Final

1 Roger Federer d Mikhail Youzhny - 67(5) 63 64

The GOAT needed to dig deep in his last 2 matches.

He dropped the 1st set in both of those matches to Haas & Youzhny.

But in the end he won his 6th title at Halle.

It had to feel good as he hadn't won a title since Cincy last summer.

There is only 1 tourney where he has more titles: Wimbledon with 7.

And further - he tied McEnroe at 3rd on the list of all-time titles at 77.

He has quite a ways to go to catch leader Jimmy Connors at 106.

Methinks that Connors record is safe.

Post match: I am happy it worked for me today. I was satisfied with my

game in the past 10 months. Maybe people thought I was playing badly.

That was not the case. I was playing well but, when it mattered,

the others were just better. Today it worked well.

Novak Djokovic Thru to Semifinals at French Open

French Open - Men's Quarterfinal

1 Novak Djokovic d 12 Tommy Haas - 63 76(5) 75

Nole has stated that this is the title he wants this year.

He is 2 wins away.

And it's kind of fitting that he'll have to go thru Rafa to get it too.

Seems tragically unfiiting that it's at the semifinal stage.

Post match: Now I have a big challenge in front of me & I'm ready for it.

I have been playing well. I know that this is the biggest challenge for me

in Roland Garros, no question about it,

and I'm sure that it's going to be quite a good match.

Old Man Tommy Haas Reaches Quarterfinals at French Open

French Open - Men's Fourth Round

12 Tommy Haas d 29 Mikhail Youzhny - 61 61 63

At 35 Tommy is the oldest Qf-ist at the FO since 1971.

It also took him 12 attempts in Paris to reach his 1st Qf at the FO.

He'll get Novak next - H2H: 4-3/Novak.

Remember: Tommy just beat Novak (in straight sets) at Miami in March.

So, who knows. This Qf could be very in-ter-est-ing.

Post match: It is one of the biggest challenges in tennis,

if not the biggest one right now, playing against the No. 1 player.

[He is] somebody that's very, very eager to win this title –

[the] one that's missing in his collection.

Tommy Haas Wins ATP Title at Munich

Munich ATP 250 - Men's Final

3 Tommy Haas d 4 Philipp Kohlschreiber - 63 76(3)

At 35 Tommy becomes the oldest ATP title winner in 5 years.

This is his 14th title and 4th in Germany: Stuttgart '01; Halle '09 & '12.

The win will bump him up a spot to #13. Next stop: top ten! Surely.

Post match: It's a sensational feeling to be quite honest.

It was another one of those milestones that I hoped for,

to maybe win this title one year. To have done that, this late in my career,

is a big highlight for me. Every time you win a title,

it's a reflection of putting everything together the whole week.

It doesn't happen that often. You're really proud of those moments.

Tommy Haas into Semifinals at Munich

Munich ATP 250 - Men's Quarterfinal

3 Tommy Haas d 6 Florian Mayer - 64 61

35 year-old Tommy continues to roll back the years.

In 9 tournaments played this year this is his 4th Sf showing: 1-2.

It's really quite remarkable.

He'll face Ivan Dodig in the Sf's - H2H: 1-0/Tommy.

They just played a fairly tight 3-setter at Delray Beach.

Moving up: Tommy should bump up one to #13 on Monday.

Let's hear for the old guys.

 

Tommy Haas Celebrates 35th Birthday with a Rise in the Rankings

Following his Sf showing at Miami Tommy is up to #14.

It's the highest he's been ranked since he was #11 in January of '08.

Remember he enjoyed his rankings best of #2 for 6 weeks in 2002.

Can he get back into the top 10?

The last time he was a top 10er was a 5 week stint at #9 in '07.

He's only 740 points behind Tipsarevic at #10.

A few nice runs in upcoming tournies and he could well do it.

As an old guy myself I'd love for him to get there.

Andy Murray & David Ferrer to Play for Title at Miami

ATP Masters Series 1000 Miami - Men's Semifinals

2 Andy Murray d 8 Richard Gasquet - 67(3) 61 62

3 David Ferrer d 15 Tommy Haas - 46 62 63

Those were a couple of fun come-from-behind victories.

Much better matches than the women's Sf's - if we're being honest.

Andy is playing for his 9th Masters title and 2nd at Miami.

Between '08-'11 Andy won 2 Masters titles a year. But none last year.

Although he did manage 2 much bigger titles: the Olympics & US Open.

As for David, he's playing for his 2nd Masters title.

Remember he won his 1st at the final Masters of 2012 at Paris.

He's over 30 and playing the best tennis of his career.

Andy & David are nearly even in their 11 matches - H2H: 6-5/Murray.

They split their 2 encounters last year.

On hard courts tho it's a different story - 5-1/Murray.

I think this will be a very close and entertaining match. Alarm set.

Tommy Haas Upsets Novak Djokovic at Miami

ATP Masters Series 1000 Miami - Men's 4th Round

15 Tommy Haas d 1 Novak Djokovic - 62 64

Wow. Who on this planet saw this one coming?

I mean, Tommy is a week away from his 35th birthday.

Nole had not played his 1st ATP match when Tommy 1st played at Miami.

This is the second time in Tommy's career he's beaten a #1 player.

The first time was against Andre Agassi all the way back in 1999.

Tommy improves his Miami record to 14-11. This is his 1st Qf here.

He'll will face Gilles Simon - he has a winning record - H2H: 4-1/Haas.

Can the old guy make an improbable run to the Sf's or *gasp* final?

Juan Monaco Wins Hamburg Title & Enters Top 10

Hamburg ATP 500 - Final

3 Juan Monaco d WC Tommy Haas - 75 64

This is Juan's 3rd title of the year, 6th of his career & 2nd at the 500 level.

Of course all of them have come on clay.

With the win he'll move into the top 10 for the first time.

Tandil: Never mind Argentina - the city of Tandil has 2 top 10-ers next week.

Monaco & Del Potro will be side-by-side at #'s 9 & 10 - doing Tandil proud.

The German Open began in 1892 - he becomes the 3rd Argentine to win.

Following in the triumphant footsteps of 2 Guillermo's: Vilas and Coria.

Post match: It's amazing [to break the Top 10], it's a dream come true.

I will always remember this great week...

Because it's very important for me and my team.

It was a big goal we had pre-season when we were practising very hard.

About the quick turn-around for the Olympics next week he said:

To change the courts is not going to be easy for me...

 But I have five days for practice to be with the guys there.

So, let’s see how it goes. This tournament will bring me big confidence and,

I’m feeling great, no injuries. So, I will try my best in London.

Juan lost in the 3rd round at Wimby so yea, we'll see.

Photo: Reuters

Juan Monaco into ATP Hamburg Final

Hamburg ATP 500 - Semifinal

3 Juan Monaco d 1 Nicolas Almagro - 36 63 64

Second straight Sunday final - he lost Stuttgart last week to Tipsarevic.

This is his 4th final on the year: 2-1 and 15th of his career: 5-9.

Win or lose tomorrow he will move past Fish to a career high of #13.

Juan is inching ever closer to that top 10 goal.

Post match: I played a great match to beat Almagro...

The top seed and a Top 10 player.

I’m very happy about that and getting through to the final.

He'll face the old man, Tommy Haas in the final - H2H: 3-1/JM.

Then he's off to proudly represent Argentina at the London Games.

Photo is from Juan's Facebook page.

ATP Weekend Winners for June 17, 2012

ATP 250 Queen's Club - Final

6 Marin Cilic d 10 David Nalbandian - 67(3) 43 Def.

David was defaulted for assaulting and leaving bloodied a lines judge.

Thus handing Marin his 7th career ATP title.

Marin has been struggling with injuries of late and said post-match:

I played good today and came here to play four, five matches.

I won them and pretty comfortably in those first two or three.

I’m feeling really good & I think my form is on the spot where it should be.

***

ATP 250 Halle - Final

WC Tommy Haas d 2 Roger Federer - 76(5) 64

This is Tommy's 13th career ATP title & 1st since winning Halle in '09.

The win also gave him a near 40 spot ranking boost to #49.

This was Tommy's 3rd win over Fed - the last win was way back in '02.

Post match: I don’t have many words to say really...

Except that it is an amazing feeling to win another title in Germany.

To have somebody across the net like Roger is a real honour for me.

To have that picture with the winning trophy and Roger next to me...

Is something really special, something I’ll obviously never forget.

I’m just really happy and proud.