Thirty-Five-Year-Old Haas Into Roland Garros Quarterfinals

June 3, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg

At the French Open on Monday, Tommy Haas defeated Mikhail Youzhny, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. Youzhny, known for overtly his expressing his frustration on the court, could be faced with a fine after smashing his racket on a bench. Haas, with the win, became the oldest Roland Garros quarterfinalist since 1971 and the oldest major quarterfinalist since Andre Agassi, at 35 years and 135 days, at the 2005 U.S. Open.

“What I’m really proud about is that I reached the quarterfinals here for the first time, not knowing if that was ever going to be possible,” said Haas “It’s a great success for me.”

Haas will face world number one Novak Djokovic in the quarters after his defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Djokovic reached his 16th straight quarterfinal at a major championship as he continues his quest to become the eighth man in tennis history to complete a career Grand Slam. Kohlschreiber dropped to 1-8 against top five opponents.

Djokovic leads the head-to-head against Haas with a 4-3 record lifetime. 

Also advancing at Roland Garros on Monday was Rafael Nadal who defeated the number 13 seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-1, 6-3. The win was his 56th in 57 matches at Roland Garros, as Nadal awaits the winner of the match between the seventh seeded Richard Gasquet and ninth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka for his quarterfinals opponent. Nadal is on course to become the first man in tennis history to win eight titles at the same major championship.

Roger Federer also won and advanced to the quarters, recording his 900th match win defeating Gilles Simon 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. With the win, Federer became just the fourth player in ATP World Tour history to reach the 900-win mark.

“When you win you can enjoy it more, because it can be a very, very frustrating game, as well,” said Federer. “At the end, let’s not forget only one guy ever wins the tournament. All the other guys go home with nothing. So it can be tough depending on how you see it. Only Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Guillermo Vilas have won more matches during their careers than Federer. Federer will face the number six seed, France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals, after Tsonga’s 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over Serbian Viktor Troicki.

 

 


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