Haas stuns Federer to capture Halle crown
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, June 18, 2012
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Tommy Haas (right) and Switzerland's Roger Federer pose with their trophies after the German won the Gerry Weber Open final in Halle, western Germany, yesterday. |
Wildcard Tommy Haas of Germany defeated five-time winner Roger Federer 7-6 (5), 6-4 to win the Gerry Weber Open in Halle for the second time yesterday.
The 87th-ranked Haas, the oldest player in the singles draw at 34, recovered from losing his serve in the first game by winning the first set on a tiebreaker and then getting the decisive break in the ninth game of the second set.
The second-seeded Federer was bidding for his fifth tour title of the season and his 75th overall.
Home favorite Haas got the break to earn a 5-4 lead after a lengthy rally featuring lobs, chips and a drop-shot, following two unforced errors in succession from Federer allowed him to force deuce.
Haas last won the grasscourt tournament in 2009 and this was his 13th ATP title.
After claiming the title, Haas said: "If someone had said to me beforehand that I was going to beat Roger Federer, probably the best player of all time, I would have thought they were mad!"
In Birmingham, England, Jelena Jankovic kept alive her bid to win her first title in more than two years by beating Misaki Doi of Japan 6-3,6-4 to reach the semifinals of the Aegon Classic yesterday.
It had taken the former top-ranked Serbian three rain-affected days to complete the victory over the 21-year-old Japanese left-hander playing her first quarterfinal in a WTA Tour event.
Jankovic, who won here five years ago, will face Zheng Jie of China in the semis. Former US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin overcame fellow American Irina Falconi 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 and will face Ekaterina Makarova, the eighth-seeded Russian.
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