Tommy Haas believes his buddy Roger Federer will be able to play at the highest level for a few more years. And at the same time he remembers his last match victory on the ATP tour.
The last defeat and at the same time the last match? Against Jan-Lennard Struff in Kitzbühel. The last victory on the ATP tour? Against Roger Federer in Stuttgart. No wonder Tommy Haas, when talking to the Tennis365 portal, remembers the encounter with his good buddy Federer rather than the final chapter of his great tennis career.
“Playing against Roger and beating him on grass was certainly a memorable way to end my career,” Haas explained. Notwithstanding the fact that the Hamburg-born player then played in Halle (defeat against Bernard Tomic), in Wimbledon (first-round off against Ruben Bemelmans), in Hamburg (Haas lost against Nicolas Kicker) and in Kitzbühel.
And also in Stuttgart the success against Roger Federer did not mean the tournament victory at the same time. “I thought for a moment after the match that I would stop right then, but I had some obligations to fulfil,” Haas continued. “But already in the match against Roger I felt that I was getting problems with my body. I wasn’t ready to play the quarter-finals two days late.” Haas lost that to Mischa Zverev.
In the meantime, the 40-year-old has long since found a new, rewarding job with the post of tournament director in Indian Wells, where Oracle boss Larry Ellison’s event is regarded as the fifth Grand Slam tournament. Roger Federer has won in the Californian desert in 2017 and was on the verge of defending his title in the latest edition – but was unable to close the bag against Juan Martin del Potro.
Nevertheless, Tommy Haas believes that the 20-time Major winner will not be part of the old game for some time yet. “What can you say about this guy?” says Haas. “Roger is just incredible. We would have thought he’d take it a little easier at this stage of his career, but he’s so keen on organising his tournament schedule and taking care of his body that it’s easy to imagine that he’s going to play well for a few more years.