Tommy Haas is looking forward to future Grand Slam champions
Tommy Haas will make a lightning comeback in Berlin from July 13th to 19th. At the "bett1Aces", the long-standing German number one will meet three players, whom he believes in the near future.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jun 21, 2020, 10:25 am
The native of Hamburg likes to show that Tommy Haas still hits the ball very sportily on social media. Before the ultimately canceled ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, which he heads as tournament director, Haas had a sweaty training session with defending champion Dominic Thiem , even in the weeks after that the former number two hardly left the world loose. And so it can be assumed that Haas will make a very good figure at the "bett1Open" from July 13th to 19th in Berlin, where he meets Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Nick Kyrgios .
In the future, he believes his opponents will be more confident than some of them. Kyrgios only announced in an Australian podcast a few days ago that he will probably never win a Grand Slam tournament. He was simply not physically capable of this. Dominic Thiem, on the other hand, has already had three major trophies, most recently in the final of the Australian Open 2020, which the Austrian lost in five sets against Novak Djokovic. Zverev had reached the semifinals at one of the four largest tournaments for the first time on the same occasion, had failed there due to Thiem.
Haas - "Could be Sinner's father"
Haas has not forgotten another newcomer who will hit the grass and hard court in Berlin: Jannik Sinner from South Tyrol. “Thiem, Zverev, Kyrgios - you don't have to explain too much about these guys. These are absolute top players who are likely to win grand slam tournaments soon. The contrast to Jannik Sinner is particularly attractive. He's only 18, so I could be his father. On grass in the Steffi Graf Stadium, the rallies will be shorter and if I don't have to run too much, I can keep up. But if they chase me, I will notice how big the space is. They are tough, good opponents, but I am up to the challenge. I'm curious to see what else I can do. Maybe I can still annoy some of them. ”
The challenge for the organizers remains whether Berlin can be played in front of a limited number of spectators. "We are in close contact with the Berlin authorities and have also developed a comprehensive hygiene concept. It would be great if we could get away from the ghost game atmosphere, ”explains Edwin Weindorfer, organizer of bett1ACES and CEO of the e | motion group.