Tommy Haas

March 9, 2007

Tommy Haas

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please, for Tommy Haas.

Q. Coming into Indian Wells, how do you feel right now?
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, obviously, feel pretty good, looking at the results the last couple of weeks, you know. It's always tough to play here, it always take you a few days, you know, with the high altitude, balls keep flying a lot, nice surroundings, good weather, good fans, you know. It's nice to be here.

Q. Has that been a constant struggle for you just, you know the atmosphere, the way the balls bounce out here?
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, a little bit. I think not only for me, but for a lot of people, you know. You go up in tension a little bit. You try to experience a different type of play. It's really tough to go for your shots because you need to hit them, I think, almost perfect in order to make them.
So you adjust a little bit, you experience a little bit, try to feel as comfortable as you can. And then once you play, you don't really have much of a choice anyway. You go out there and do your best and try to win.

Q. Which tournaments is the conditions similar to?
TOMMY HAAS: None.

Q. None.
TOMMY HAAS: No.

Q. Do you think these conditions benefit Federer's game?
TOMMY HAAS: You know, if you go by the last couple of years how he's been doing here, you know, I think he kind of likes it. You know, I think everybody is trying to adjust when they come here, and then, you know, once you make it to a certain part of the tournament, I think you feel pretty comfortable about your game.
You know, I think the first couple rounds might be always the most difficult ones, trying to find your game, trying to feel comfortable. Once, if you have the chance, make it past a few rounds, then, you know, it's good for everyone.

Q. Federer needs five more victories to equal the record for consecutive victories?
TOMMY HAAS: I saw that, yeah.

Q. Do you think he'll get them?
TOMMY HAAS: Well, I'm sure he's thinking about it. You know, I think he needs to win five matches here to come to the finals, so that's obviously going to be on his mind. Considering how he's done here the last couple of years, he's probably feeling pretty good about it, you know. I'm sure he'll be thinking about it every match and I'm sure the players that will play against him will know about it as well as the week goes on, and be interesting to see what happens.

Q. What do you think it's going to take for someone to break that streak?
TOMMY HAAS: Well, I think it's really only a few players probably that can give him trouble, to be honest, the way he's been playing, obviously, you know. But I think in order to beat him, you have to use your chances and, you know, you know you're going to get some at some point, but you'd better use it, and if you don't, then obviously you're not gone a win.

Q. Who are those few players that you think can give him problems?
TOMMY HAAS: Well, you know, I think obviously Rafael Nadal has been giving him troubles over the past few years, you know. He hasn't been able to play him lately because he's been losing to other tough players, you know, before they would meet up in the finals. You know, Andy Murray is the guy that's beaten him before, who I think has a pretty good game to be dangerous for Roger. Marat Safin, if he's on fire, puts his head in there, he's got a big powerful game to give him some trouble. You know, I think I'm one of the contenders that can give him some trouble and has a chance beating him.
So, you know, there's always some dangerous floaters out there, like we know in tennis. It's really tough how many good players are out there, so anybody on a good day that just keeps his head together and can convert on the big points, which is obviously the toughest thing I think to do against Roger, then, you know, you would have a shot. But in order to get that, you're going to have to play on a pretty high level.

Q. The one guy you didn't mention was Andy Roddick.
TOMMY HAAS: He's obviously one of them as well, sure. I'm not going to go down the top 20 list now and tell you if they have a chance or not, but, you know, Andy's been playing well and he pushed him quite good in the Master's Cup last year. Obviously the Australian Open, there was not much he could have done.
But Andy needs to be playing obviously at a really high level from the baseline. When he has a chance, needs to take it, and then probably needs to serve as well as he can in order to beat him. So not to say Andy can't do that, but he just needs to do it when he's playing Roger, so...

Q. How is the level of your game? What do you think your chances are in the tournament these two weeks?
TOMMY HAAS: I feel good about my game. I feel good physically. I'm in good shape, really enjoying myself out there on the court, you know. It's always a challenge, like I said, the first couple matches or even the first match going out there. You know, I don't know who I'm playing yet, but, you know, it's going to be tough.
But I'm happy to be here again. I've played well here in the past, never reaching further than the Round of 16, but I've had some good wins. I like playing out here. So, you know, if I can get through my first match and feel comfortable, and, you know, play the way I have been playing, I think I'm going to be tough to beat.

Q. When you're playing Federer, and you've had some close matches with him in the past, can you sense him getting a bit nervous in tight situations or does he camouflage, does he mask it pretty well?
TOMMY HAAS: You know, to be honest, I just played him in Dubai. I didn't get a good start, which was a little bit unfortunate for me, and got a break to go down 2-1, had a break chance right in the next game. If I take that, you know, it's 2-all, we're back in the first set. Didn't convert unfortunately until I lost the first set 4-6, second set I was up 3-2, Love-40, three break points, didn't make him play on a few, and then we had an unbelievable rally, which he ended up winning. He ends up winning the game.
At 5-4 in the second set, I have a set point, you know, he comes up with a pretty good shot and I don't make him play. It's just a few points here and there.
The second set probably should have been mine. And then you never know what can happen in the third. Maybe he starts thinking. Who knows.
But obviously he's the guy in those situations that really knows right now what to do and stays calm and play the right shot for quite a long time now. And that's, you know, something you can learn from or look at and say, it's just too good at times.
But, you know, I think like I mentioned before, there's certain times when I feel like certain players that do have a chance, and if they can convert those points...
You know, there's times when I feel that maybe he's starting to think a little bit or gets a little nervous, but obviously has been very few times in the last couple of years, so...

Q. I have an interest in Alexander Waske because he played college tennis in the city where I'm employed.
TOMMY HAAS: Nice city.

Q. How much have you seen him improve since he came on the tour?
TOMMY HAAS: Well, I mean, never actually heard of him until he got on tour, so...

Q. Right.
TOMMY HAAS: Now we actually are good friends, and he's a Davis Cup colleague, obviously. And actually the first time I played doubles for my country was with him, and we have a good record, and, you know, he's the type of guy that, you know, is living a dream, and I think is doing more than he ever expected.
But he's, you know, a hard worker and a strong believer, a very confident-type guy, a good guy to have in your corner. You know, he gives it his best every time he steps on the court and fights. And I think college tennis has helped him a lot through that, just the kind of atmosphere you get playing college tennis. You know, you can see that in him if you compare to maybe a couple of other German players, you know. He puts his fist out a lot, you know. He competes hard and he really enjoys himself out there. So, you know, it's great for me to see him do well. And, you know, I just -- wish him to continue to do well and hopefully he stays away from injuries and has a couple good more years left.
THE MODERATOR: Anything else for Tommy.

Q. Speaking of college tennis, German players seem to be almost dominating college tennis in the United States in Division 1 Champions from Germany. Why aren't there more German players on your level, or maybe there are?
TOMMY HAAS: Well, we have. Obviously, if you think about it, Nicolas Kiefer has been a player who has been on top of the game for quite some years. Obviously, considering what you think is a top level, I think any player that's in the top 50, you know is a great tennis player, obviously, in the top 100, as well, but top 50, you can made it in a certain way. Rainer Schuettler has had some great years. He's obviously been struggling in the past, but he's still a dangerous player and plays hard and competes hard.
A guy like Becker, who went to college tennis way, coming through strong now, very dangerous, good player, Florian Mayer, Philipp Kohlschreiber, I think they're both in the top 50s, doing pretty well. But I still think they need to get a little bit more tougher mentally and maybe work it just a little bit harder in order to get to the next level. But they both certainly have the ability and talent to do that.
So we have, you know, a few good players. In Germany, it's tough to do both with schooling and tennis. You know, at some point, when you're 18, 19, you pretty much have to decide what you want to do. And college tennis, I think really comes in handy that way because you can still train hard and play a lot of tennis and, you know, play college tennis and still study and do something on the side in case it doesn't happen for you.
So I think that's a nice way to go about for some European players. And German players seem to enjoy it and some of them have some great success. And I think Germany sees that and knows that. So if that's something they can do and have a scholarship and go to America, it's great.
THE MODERATOR: Okay. Thanks everyone.
TOMMY HAAS: All right. Thanks.

March 14, 2007

Tommy Haas

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You played one of the most spectacular shot makers in the game today and you forced him backwards. That's got to feel pretty good?
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, thanks. No, obviously I do. You know, I thought going into the Australian Open semifinal match, I was feeling quite well myself. And, you know, it was just one of those days where, you know, you kind of feel like it's a bad nightmare in that match.
You know, he was hitting 45 winners and I think three unforced errors the whole match. You're looking maybe to get to a Grand Slam final, which is a dream for every tennis player, so it kind of sets, you know, in my stomach for a while. And, you know, you just question yourself, what I did wrong or what I could have done differently. And, you know, there was nothing really I could have done differently that day.
I'm really looking forward to this revenge. When I saw the draw, you never really look ahead, but there was a possibility we might meet up in the Round of 16, got fired up already for it, you know, after beating Gabashvili, really, and I heard he was beating Soderling. So me and my coach obviously thought about it, how to play and everything, seemed to go pretty well.

Q. How did you play?
TOMMY HAAS: Oh, yeah, I'm not going to go through too many details, but the way I played tonight, I think was try to, at least, go through my service games easier, you know, try to get some free points on my serve, which I thought I can at the right time. So I got them at the right times, not try to let him dictate play, you know, maybe actually that I was a little more aggressive or come in at the right time.
And, yeah, and try to win the big points, which is so often so important in every match.

Q. Tommy, compared to the rest of your career, how well are you playing at the moment?
TOMMY HAAS: I mean, I don't know. I can look at tapes four years ago when I was No. 2 in the world and say that was some great tennis that I played. I think every year, everybody's improving and getting in better shape. You have to try to keep up, and, you know, bring your game up to another level, try also to get physically onto a different level, otherwise you cannot compete.
You know, there's a lot of young guys coming up, pushing everybody, and obviously Federer has set up the bar so high where you see a complete player, maybe the completest player ever, where you're in top shape and you hit every shot and you show your coolness and you win the important points. So you kind of, you know, you look at that, and that's where you kind of -- where everybody wants to get to.

Q. You obviously got and Andy Murray next a different kind of match for you.
TOMMY HAAS: Mm-hmm.

Q. What are your thoughts about playing him?
TOMMY HAAS: It's always difficult to play somebody I've never played before. Obviously I've seen him play. He's a tricky player, you know. He walks around the court like he can't go on anymore after like two points and touches himself on the back or the leg, you think he's going to retire any second. But at the same time, he moves around the court pretty well, almost like as good as anyone out there, I think. He's got some fantastic hands, great touch, and he competes hard, even though he let's his emotions out, as well, which I kind of like.
And sometimes, actually, I see myself a little bit in him sometimes, you know, talking to his coach, you know, yelling a couple of negative words towards the box, which it's good to see I'm not the only one.
You know, he competes and he wants to win and, you know, he knows where the ball is coming to most of the time. But, you know, I think I'm just going to have to play my game, be aggressive as well. I think as you saw, Davydenko was trying to be aggressive, didn't know when to come in at the right time. That's really not Davydenko's games, so we'll see. We'll see how Murray plays against me. But like I said, it's always tricky when you play for the first time.

Q. Have you practiced with him?
TOMMY HAAS: I have. Him and Brad Gilbert have been spending time at Bollettieri's Tennis Academy, I think, the past two Decembers, ever since they hooked up.
But practice is practice, you know. It's not the same. We talk more about whatever then really focusing on the practice. So, you know, this will be a big match for both of us, trying to get to the semifinals and should be a good match.

Q. Tommy, was Gonzalez a good fighter tonight?
TOMMY HAAS: I think he was trying to come back and fight. You know, I just don't think that -- he probably needed to have a little bit of a run here. Every once in a while he was hitting, you know, some crazy good shots, but then again he would make an unforced error or was forced to make an unforced error.
So he needed to probably get a break back in the second to maybe compete a little bit harder . Obviously when I got the early break in the second set, that gave me a lot of confidence.

Q. Do you ever feel you've been a forgotten guy in and among the top guys in the mix. You got up as high as No. 2. Obviously had some serious problems with personal stuff and injury and stuff. You know, do you feel like you're owed some payback or your day is still to come?
TOMMY HAAS: Not really. Everybody has a different career. You know, some guys go out there and have no injuries for 15 years and play and have, you know, everything going for them in some ways.
You know, I'm not really, you know, regretful that I had two shoulders surgeries at my peak time was gone for a long time and basically had to start from zero. You know, I'm the oldest guy in the top 10, but I still feel like I've, you know, a few good years left where I can probably play some of my best tennis, maybe because I didn't play for 15 months because of two shoulder surgeries.
So, you know, I kind of like it quiet anyway, to be honest. I'm not the guy that needs to be in the limelight or needs to be like, you know, wherever, out in the newspapers and in the front pages. I don't appreciate that too much.
And, you know, I just go about my business. I'm back in the top 10, which was one of my main goals to try to do after the surgery. I didn't think it was maybe possible, because at the beginning when I came back, it looked like I couldn't really serve as hard as I wanted to anymore. But slowly, you know, I've gotten better and, you know, that was one of my main goals, and I achieved it. So I'm pretty happy.
So everything right now for me is like if I'm staying healthy and compete hard and play hard and I feel like I'm going to be a tough opponent to beat, I'm happy for that.

Q. Do you feel like you're on an a bit of an emotional (indiscernible). Davis Cup, good performance there, good performance in Australia. Do you feel energized about the way the year has shaped up for you?
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, so far the best beginning of the year that I've ever had. And, you know, that's obviously great because, you know, every time you go out in the court, you feel good, you feel like you're tough to beat. That's a feeling you want to have. Sometimes you can maybe not feel the backhand as well or you're not happy with some things, you struggle with those things more than actually trying to focus on the match.
So, you know, Davis Cup was obviously very big, gave me a lot of confidence, as well, because I put a lot of pressure on myself trying to win that tie. Because we really haven't had that much success in Davis Cup and the Germans really wanted to see us beating Croatia, which is obviously one of the toughest teams with two top 10 players at the time. And, you know, for us to win there was huge. And that gave us, Germany a good lift again in tennis.
And with me being back in the top 10, you know, that's, the Germans were very blessed Graf and Becker. It's going to be tough to fill their shoes. We've had some other good successful players.

Q. Is that your team now in the sense that the U.S. team is pretty much Andy's team?
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, in some ways. I just find it hard to really say it's my team. I mean, in some ways, we all know that, but at the end of the day, we are a team and we try to get three points and that's really all that matters. And now we will focus on Belgium, which is a tough task, you know, in Belgium on heavy clay, which is not the Germans' favorite surface, obviously.
But we're going to go there with pride and I think if we play well, we have a good chance.

Q. Back to your match against Murray, I did notice that Davydenko maybe left a lot of opportunities to come to the net. You being a more accomplished volleyer, in my opinion, than Davydenko, do you feel you're going to come in?
TOMMY HAAS: Well, I'm certainly going to have to try. I think sometimes Andy's game applies that. You know, he makes it up with the slice. A lot of times you'll see him dink a slice in the middle court and sort of say, come in, come on, come in, I want to pass you.
He has a lot of touch and feel for it. So, you know, we'll see how he plays against me, if he will have the same tactic or might play a little different, which I would think so. But overall I'm an aggressive player and that's going to be my game anyway. So when I feel like I have the right shot, I need to be aggressive, I need to come in, it doesn't matter if it's Andy or Roger Federer on the other side, it doesn't matter. Just going to have to play my game.

Q. You mentioned you see a little bit of yourself in him in that you have a go at your coach, all that sort of thing on the court?
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah.

Q. Why do players have a go at their coach?
TOMMY HAAS: I mean, I think it's tough to really explain it, you know. I mean there's really only a few guys or elite group of players, you know, in the top 10, as well, and you know everybody is obviously different, but we all are a little bit crazy, the ones that are top 30, top 20. I think they all a little different philosophy about many things.

Q. Why do you?
TOMMY HAAS: I don't know. I mean, I'm not going at my coach or whoever is in the box, you know, saying meaningful things on purpose, or, you know, that I actually mean. It's just, you know, you just let it out. You know, you're there with the team, you know it's a single sport, you're always on the court by yourself. Tennis is a very strong, complicated game with a lot of different factors that I could sit here for probably an hour and talk about which other sports have it much easier than us tennis players.
But, you know, so when our coach maybe doesn't look at you the second you look at them, because you may have missed the tough shot, and there was, you know, a close call, whatever, you know, you just want to let him know that, listen, I'm here, let's go. I mean, that's what you're here for.
So I think me and Andy are pretty similar, what we say or how we are actually trying to get the attention from our coach every once. It's not like we want to be coached or need to hear something, we just want to, you know, feel like we're a team, that's all.

Q. Was there any positive mental or emotional thing that has really helped you after the injury, I mean, that you took away from that injury when you started to come back which really helped you become the player you are today?
TOMMY HAAS: The only thing really that I'm grateful is the surgery went well and that I had good guys around me that whole time to never, you know, stop believing in me. And, you know, that's basically also Nick Bollettieri, (indiscernible), the guy that was working on my shoulder for a long time, Dave Hogarth (phonetic). So that's really the main thing that I'm back, I can play without pain, you know. You never know. You always sometimes in the back of your mind know that you have a serious surgery there, so you always hope, you know, if you feel a little bit, like a little tweak or a little pain, hopefully it's not too serious.
Sometimes the balls are pretty soft and you feel your own shoulder more than other days, and you just hope that something like this will not reoccur until the end of your career, basically, 'cause that's like, for a sport guy, in general, I think, you know to stop or to always worry about injuries, there's nothing worse.
So, you know, you appreciate just being healthy and that's really the most important.

Q. Is it a maturity issue or anything like that?
TOMMY HAAS: (No audible response.)

March 16, 2007

Tommy Haas

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Obviously a very eventful match. Just tell us your perspective of it.
TOMMY HAAS: Of how I feel or about the match?

Q. How you feel and where you think the difference was.
TOMMY HAAS: Well, obviously I don't feel great right now. You know, it's a tough loss to accept, especially when you have match points. It's hard, you know, I thought I was pretty much in control of the match. In the beginning I felt pretty good. You know, he took an injury timeout, I think, which is fine. And then I had that little problem there, I think at 2-0, which made me actually kind of nervous for him because I've had some problems in the past and twisted my ankle and things like that. So you always worry about your opponent and want to make sure he's fine.
It seemed like he wasn't fine there for a while, but then, you know, I guess nothing really big turned. It didn't turn out to be that big of a deal. Got a little bit unlucky in the first couple days of the second to get a break and didn't break back. That was, you know, coming down to the deciding set, and, you know, got down on a break, broke back, and it was pretty exciting stuff. I just didn't use my chance with the match point. Got to make that shot to win matches.
But, you know, it's definitely a good learning experience playing him for the first time for next time.

Q. Was it distracting when an opponent has had a long timeout with injury and the match has been broken up like that and then you restart and he's moving okay? Does that thing go through your head? Is it distracting for you?
TOMMY HAAS: A little bit. You know, like I said, it looked like he was actually hurt, you know, so, you know, you wonder if he's gonna be okay. Then the first couple points you see how they move or react. You know, I guess it seemed to be -- seemed to be all right for him.
So then you just focus on playing the match again so you don't worry about it for too, too long. You know, you just have to deal with it.

Q. So you were able to refocus quite quickly and get on with?
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, I tried to have. I would have like to break him back. I had a few chances. He broke a string. I didn't make him play on the one shot. So got a little bit un lucky on a couple of Deuce points when he was serving. Yeah, I didn't have a chance to break him back in that second set, and then, you know, anything's possible in the third so...

Q. What was the matter for you at the end? Was it cramps?
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, my left quads for some reason kind of cramped up. I guess, you know, I'm in great shape, so I kind of just wanted the win really bad. You know, I think all the emotions and everything kind of came in play, and, yeah, sometimes when you get too overexcited or too into it, your body can sometimes act up weird.
So that was a little bit of a surprise. And it's unfortunate, but it still doesn't mean that I didn't have my chance to win the match. So it's too bad.

Q. What is it about his game that makes him difficult to play?
TOMMY HAAS: Well, for one, he moves really well. He knows where to be most of the time. But it's actually incredible how slow he plays. I was very surprised at times. You know, it's almost sometimes like a couple of rallies are almost -- you think you're back in the juniors.
And the balls get really heavy here. It doesn't play as fast at night as it does during the day. It's a little bit of a disadvantage for me tonight, you know. Every time I'd go forward, he has a better chance to get to the balls and he kind of just notices it or he sees it, when you're actually coming in, and then he goes first shot and comes up with some great passing shots every once in a while and on big points.
It's something I didn't expect, but for next time, it's gonna be good to know.

Q. You were quite successful at saving breakpoints. I think you served 11 out of 13, where he tends to get a little bit defensive?
TOMMY HAAS: You think he was offensive any time else?

Q. Sorry?
TOMMY HAAS: Do you think he was offensive at some other points during the match?

Q. I think he was, but my question is --
TOMMY HAAS: I don't think he was. He plays very defensive. That's his game. He plays slice, he moves around the ball, but there's very few times he goes for it, or, you know, he occasionally hits big backhand or goes for a forehand. But pretty much when it's in the rally, he kind of tries to let the other opponent maybe force an error, but he doesn't really play offensive.

Q. So you didn't notice any change in his tactics when it was breakpoint up?
TOMMY HAAS: No.

Q. At the end of the match, you had some exchange with him. Could you tell us what was said?
TOMMY HAAS: With what.

Q. You had some exchange of words with the umpire. What was it about? You were disappointed?
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, I think it was in the game at 4-All, he gave me just a warning for time violation, you know. The walk to the tower takes like 15 steps. Sometimes I guess you get around 25 seconds. But he gave me a warning and, you know, I would have liked for him to just tell me to speed it up or just let me know.
So I was thinking 4-All, Deuce to just give me a warning, it wasn't necessary. I think he's one of the best referees, so I was a little bit surprised. But no big deal.

Q. About 3-1 in the tiebreak when you went to the chair, you walked to the chair and then you took like a break.
TOMMY HAAS: I didn't really take a break. I just felt like my left quad was really tightening up. Yeah, I didn't know if I could actually serve on the next point.
And funny how it is, I mean, just standing around or walking, it's really bad. And you play points, and for some reason, you know, it's not as bad. So sometimes it's really weird to explain, but I just felt like I needed to walk there and see what my options were. So, you know, obviously I didn't have many options but to just continued to play.

Q. If you play next time, what will you change in your game?
TOMMY HAAS: I don't know. We'll see.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, guys.