Wildcard Tommy Haas shocks Roger Federer in Halle to cap comeback

TOMMY Haas defeated five-times winner Roger Federer 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Sunday to win the Gerry Weber Open for the second time.

It was Federer’s first loss to a German since Nicolas Kiefer’s semi-final win, also in Halle, 10 years ago.

“If someone had told me beforehand that I’d win the title here against probably the greatest player of all time I would not have believed it,” said Haas, a former second-ranked player whose career has been blighted by injuries.

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Now ranked 87th, wildcard Haas was the oldest player in the singles draw at 34. He recovered from losing his serve in the opening game of the match, and broke decisively in the ninth game of the second set.

“I’m very impressed with how he played today,” Federer said. “Tommy deserved to win.”

Haas said: “It’s my 13th title. It’s probably up there [as the best], if not the sweetest one, especially considering the injuries.”

Haas last won the grass-court tournament in 2009, beating Novak Djokovic in the final.

He hadn’t appeared in a final since then, so nerves perhaps played a role in his loss of serve in the first game. Both players had only been broken once this week.

Federer missed another break point in the fifth game to leave the score at 3-2.

Haas levelled by breaking in the next after Federer uncharacteristically hit a simple return into the net.

Haas missed two break chances with the score at 5-4 to win the set, sending a return long and not dealing with another. Federer eventually won the game with his fifth ace to level at 5-5.

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In the tiebreaker, the Swiss managed a mini-break on Haas’ first serve, but the German came back to establish a 4-2 lead and eventually took the set.

In the second set, the critical moment came when Haas broke to lead 5-4 after a lengthy rally featuring lobs, chips and a drop shot, following two unforced errors in succession from Federer that allowed him to force deuce.

It was the first final in the 20-year history of the tournament to feature two players aged 30 or older.

“I’m just really happy for him. Happy that he’s been able to fight off so many injuries and come back and still believe in himself, still want to travel, still want to sacrifice his family [life] too,” said the 30-year-old Federer.