Haas are missing one or two steps - Thiem in the final of bett1ACES against Sinner
A few days ago, in a video clip by the main sponsor bett1ACES, Dominic Thiem and Tommy Haas were lying next to each other on "Germany's best-selling mattress" in the lobby of the player hotel and alluding to a possible meeting at the invitation tournament in Berlin. "No, no, no - yes, yes the word duel went back and forth. On Saturday afternoon, the two actually faced each other in hangar 6 of the former international airport Tempelhof.
by Florian Heer from Berlin
last edit: Jul 19, 2020, 08:37 am
At the beginning a little shaky with his basic strokes, Thiem got better with the conditions in the unusually spectacular location with increasing match length. In the first set, the Lichtenwörther even had to fend off two set balls from the 42-year-old from Hamburg, Haas, at 5: 6 on his own serve. After winning the tie break in the first round and a break in the fourth game of the second set, Thiem booked his final ticket after 1 hour and 32 minutes.
“We both really enjoyed the match. Really a shame that we never played against each other on the tour. Tommy was always a role model and had some influence on my game. We both played very seriously today. It was a good game, a very tight first set, ”Thiem analyzed after the match against Haas, who was 16 years older.
"The match can also be different if you use one of the set balls," knew the finalist of this year's Australian Open. He had expected Haas's strong resistance on the previous day due to his two-set victory over Jan-Lennard Struff. "We all know how well Tommy plays." It was just not sure how he would put the match away the day before, Thiem said.
Haas still in a shiny shape
Haas, former number 2 in the world, winner of 15 titles on the ATP tour and with over 500 individual victories, was able to flash his old class over long stretches.
"After the short regeneration, I am very happy with how I played," the veteran explained afterwards. “However, when you are back on the court, you forget this and try to get your best tennis. Would have been great if I could have turned one of the two set balls. Then at least I would have got into the match tie-break, but of course you also saw Dominic's class. Then one or two steps are missing. It was a great experience for me to be able to play against one of my favorite players on the tour at such a level. ”
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According to Haas, his load limit is one hour of play. “After that it gets really exhausting. Then I can no longer stand up to the ball properly or jump off on the serve accordingly. I'm still glad that I could still get good tennis. ”
Regarding his preparation time for this tournament, Haas revealed: “I play tennis three to five times a week to keep fit. Outside of the square, I do some yoga or Pilates. I trained with Max Wimmer in Munich. Eight, nine days before I started here, I worked a lot with my Physio Carlos Costa. ”
Haas expects US Open
Haas, who has German and US citizenship, expects the regular tour to be successfully resumed.
“The tour has started again. We'll see what happens with the US swing. However, New York seems to be in control of it. You will surely have a good system in place to create a bubble to hold the best tournament possible. Who will come in the end is up to each player. Of course, there are still many questions to be answered, but I assume that the US Open will take place. ”
Thiem against Sinner in the final
For Thiem it is now in his second final at bett1ACES against Jannik Sinner. At the beginning of the week, the 26-year-old defeated the Italian young star in two sets on the way to the tournament victory on the grass in the Steffi Graf Stadium of the LTTC "Rot-Weiß" eV in the semi-finals.
On hard court, the Austrian expects an even greater resistance from the 18-year-old South Tyrolean, who entered Hangar 6 with a 7: 6 (5), 6: 2 victory over the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the final. "He will surely want revenge. But I'm glad that I gave myself the chance to play another final here. I will do everything I can to win again, ”said Thiem.