Haas Continues to Break New Ground

Who would have guessed that Tommy Haas would still be battling for his maiden Grand Slam crown at 35? Probably no one, but the extremely talented German continues to break new grounds every day, reaching his first quarterfinal at Roland Garros after a stunning 6-1,6-1,6-3 victory over Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

The rejuvenated Tommy is having a great season so far this year, winning his 14th career title in München and reaching the semis in Miami following a victory over world No.1, Novak Djokovic. Although he withdrew from Düsseldorf due to illness, Haas looked fresher than ever at the start of the French Open. He cruised through the opening two rounds, before winning an epic clash with marathon man, American John Isner, 10-8 in the decider. The German squandered 12 match points and had to rally from 1-4 down in the fifth set before he finally closed out a dramatic victory over the giant Isner.

While some may think that at 35 his body would fail to recover after such an intense effort, Haas proved them wrong yet again. He was sharp and utterly focus in dismissing Youzhny, who only managed to bag six games against his inspired opponent. The win makes him the oldest major quarter-finalist since Andre Agassi, at 35 years and 135 days, at the 2005 US Open. “What I'm really proud about is that I reached the quarter-finals here for the first time, not knowing if that was ever going to be possible,” said Haas “It's a great success for me."

Next up for Haas is an intriguing encounter with Australian Open champion and world No.1, Novak Djokovic. The Serb will probably be looking for vengeance, but I believe the German might be in with a good chance of repeating his sensation performance from Miami. You go Haas!

An inspired Haas left Youzhny miserable, beating the Russian 6-1,6-1,6-3 in the fourth round of the French Open. The German veteran will take on world No.1 Novak Djokovic in his first quarterfinal in Paris.

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