Haas aiming to achieve something special as he hunts Federer scalp

Published on Thursday 2 July 2009 23:02

TOMMY Haas is determined to produce one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history because he knows the chance may never come around again.

Haas, a Wimbledon semi-finalist for the first time at the age of 31, is bidding to become the oldest men's champion at the All England Club since Arthur Ashe in 1975.

His stunning quarter-final win over Novak Djokovic means today Haas faces a Centre Court showdown against Swiss master Roger Federer. Haas has ten Wimbledon appearances behind him, stretching back to 1997, but until this year there had been one solitary fourth-round appearance and a myriad of trials and tribulations.

He has matured well, though, and feels he still has time to achieve something special at SW19. "You push yourself even more to try to get to these occasions and follow your dreams as a kid," Haas said.

"Tennis players have a short career, some shorter than others. At 33, 34 or 35 you might be done. Then you have a whole life left. You want to be able to look back and say, 'Hey, I played the sport that I love as long as I could and I've tried my best'. You look back at what you have accomplished and you want to be proud of yourself." The obstacle standing in his way of a first grand slam final is the genius that is Federer, a man who has been in the last six finals, and who saw his five-title streak brought to an end by Rafael Nadal last July.

Federer knocked Haas out of the French Open this year in an unforgettable five-set battle, in which the German was five points from securing a straight-sets win. Then on a fateful break point opportunity, he was stunned by a superb Federer forehand that sparked a turnaround in fortunes.

Federer defeated hard-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic in straight sets on Wednesday to book a place in his 21st consecutive grand slam semi-final. The Swiss star is chasing a record-breaking 15th grand slam but is quick to pay tribute to Haas.

He said: "I'm really pleased for him – he played great in Paris and I know the danger that I'll be facing as grass and hard-court suit him better. I'd rather play Haas than Djokovic as he's someone from my generation.

"I am happy the way I'm playing. I am prepared for a tough weekend ahead of me, but 21 semi-finals in a row is amazing and means the world to me."