Haas Stuns Wawrinka to Advance to Quarterfinals at Internazionali BNL d’Italia

May 15, 2014 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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Tommy Haas picked up his first Top 10 win in over a year on Thursday, stunning Stanislas Wawrinka 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

The German Haas broke Wawrinka’s serve in the eighth game of the final set to secure the victory. The Australian Open champion Wawrinka played sloppy tennis committing 40 unforced errors, and failed to capitalize on his serve in the final set.

Haas has been outdueling Father Time, as the 36-year old is ranked 19th in the world and has advanced in a number of tournaments this year. When asked about how he handles playing against the young, powerful players in the game today, Haas explained:

“You have to be focused and line up the ball really well. You have to be mentally ready before you come in, then when you hit the shot you have to have the right footwork and know which side to cover. These guys are so fast these days and they have so much power. They can pass you from anywhere.”

He now moves on to play either Tomas Berdych or Grigor Dimitrov on Friday for a chance to reach the semifinals. While one high seed was upset out of the tournament early, another one took care of business.

Andy Murray celebrated his 27th birthday on Thursday by disposing of Jurgen Melzer 7-6(1), 6-4. Murray dropped opportunities for an early break in each of the sets, but was able to rally in both to get himself back into the match.

The Scot now moves on to a potential matchup with Rafael Nadal, who battles Mikhail Youzhny later today for a chance at Murray.

“I’d love to play against him,” said Murray on the possible matchup with the world’s best player. “It’d be a great match for me with the French Open just around the corner, because I’ll see exactly where my game’s at and what I need to improve.”


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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