Milestone victory over Querrey earns top seed a berth in semifinals Friday
Injury and age have eroded the tennis skills of Tommy Hass. Formely ranked No. 2 in the world, Hass, 31, now plays to extend his career in a sport that often discards players at a much younger age.
But Thursday at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, Haas recaptured his power game with an impressive showing against former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero. In winning 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, Haas advanced to the quarterfinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Play continues through Sunday at Rock Creek Park in Northwest.
“[Andre] Agassi showed you can still play some really good tennis at age 32, 33, 34,” said Haas, who is from Germany, but now lives in Bradenton, Fla. “If you keep fit, motivated, and injury free, it doesn’t mean that in your mid-30’s you can’t still play your best tennis. Age is just a number.”
That sentiment applied to former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, 28, in the following match at the Stadium Court Thursday, as he took defending champion Juan Martin del Potro to a third-set tiebreaker, before running out of gas, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2).
Hewitt looked ready to win after breaking del Potro in the 11th game of the third set when the 6-foot-6 Argentine had the match on his racquet. But in the tiebreaker, del Potro reversed the tide with two early aces and a precise backhand winner down the line. Claiming the final five points, del Potro closed out the tiebreaker to advance to the quarterfinals today against No. 5 Robin Soderling of Sweden.
Staying injury-free has been the trick for Haas. At the height of his career, when he reached No. 2 at age 24, Haas suffered a shoulder injury that kept him off the court for 15 months. He has broken both ankles and missed significant time the last two seasons with a variety of ailments.
Despite going three sets Thursday, Haas was by far the stronger player against Ferrero, 29. With the Spaniard up 5-3, Haas reversed the momentum with three straight aces, then won the next game, breaking Ferrero after fending off set point.
After Haas won four straight games to claim the first set, he got down early in the second and conserved his energy.
“When you’re down two breaks to a top player like that, it’s hard to keep focused,” said Haas. “At some point you just start thinking about the third set.”
It was the third straight time Haas has made the quarterfinals at the Legg Mason, which is becoming one of his favorite tour stops. He didn’t play here from 2002-06.
“It’s hard court and a good stadium with lots of room,” said Haas. “I like grabbing a nice meal in Georgetown and seeing more than just the hotel and tennis sites, so I like D.C. for that.”
The top two seeds in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic advanced Thursday night, but not without a struggle. After defending champion Juan Martin del Potro survived a third-set tiebreaker against Lleyton Hewitt, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2), three-time champion Andy Roddick got past Sam Querrey, 7-6 (4), 6-4, to win the 500th match of his career.
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Afterward, Roddick was presented a cake in honor of his landmark.
“It’s a small number who have gotten there. It’s an elite group,” said Roddick, 26. “I got there with enough time to add to it, significantly. It’s just a nice validation of the consistency I’ve had so far in my career.”
When asked if he remembered his first win, nine years ago against Fernando Vincente, Roddick didn’t hesitate.
“[It was] 6-4, 6-0, first round of Miami in 2000,” said Roddick. “It was cool because it was about 45 minutes from where I went to high school, and I actually was still in high school. A bunch of my friends came down. I just thought I was the coolest person on the planet.”
In his next match, Roddick was schooled by Andre Agassi. The lessons Roddick has learned throughout his career were evident Thursday night as he won on an evening when he had less than his best stuff.
Querrey, 21, had more aces (11-3) and fewer double faults (1-6). But Roddick survived by winning all the big points, many with his signature weapon – his topspin forehand.
“I served badly tonight,” said Roddick. “But it’s almost gratifying. This is probably a match I wouldn’t have won before, in the last couple years.”
When Querrey pushed Roddick to a first set tiebreaker, Roddick responded by winning four of the last five points. When Querry threatened to break Roddick in the 10th game of the final set, Roddick fended off two game points, then won the next three to close the match in style.
The top-seeded Roddick will face No. 11 Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinal round while No. 2 del Potro plays No. 5 Robin Soderling. Friday’s matches are split in two sessions, starting at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. The night session is sold out.
It could have been a wide open quarterfinal round had the underdogs prevailed Thursday night. Hewitt, formerly ranked No. 1 in the world, was poised for an upset when he broke dell Potro in the 11th game of the third set when the defending champ had the match on his racket.
But in the tiebreaker, the 20-year-old del Potro reversed the tide with two early aces and a precise backhand winner down the line. Claiming the final five points, del Potro closed out the tiebreaker against his 28-year-old opponent, a two-time major champion a the winner of the Legg Mason in 2004.
“He’s one of my idols,” said del Potro. “We had a great match. I had good shots and good serves and that was the game. The key was in the tie-break.”
End of the line for Devvarman
University of Virginia graduate Somdev Devvarman had another inspired run at the Legg Mason after surviving the qualifying rounds. But for the second straight year, he was halted by the huge serves of 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic.
The Croatian, who leads the ATP in aces, had 14 of them Thursday, with only one double fault. In ten service games, Devvarman managed to win just six points and never got Karlovic to deuce. Devvarman was powerless, even against Karlovic’s second serve, winning just 3 of 17.
Devvarman, who is from India, held serve through the first set until the 12th game, when Karlovic won four of five points.
Other matches
» No. 4 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile had no trouble with American Wayne Odesnik, 6-2, 6-4, and will play No. 10 Tommy Haas in the next round. Gonzalez, Roddick, and Karlovic are the only quarterfinalists who have yet to lose a set.
» In the most wide-open quadrant of the draw, No. 8 Tomas Berdych of Czechoslovakia used his big serve and blistering forehand to oust Phillip Petzschner of Germany, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and advance to a quarterfinal match with John Isner, who handled qualifier Sebasien DeChaunac in straight sets. It was a departure for Isner. Six of his seven wins in Washington had come via third-set tiebreaker.
