Wimbledon: Don't write the rest of us off, says Haas
Jun 30 2007 By The Journal
Tommy Haas last night insisted Roger Federer's fifth straight Wimbledon title is not a foregone conclusion, writes PHIL CASEY.
Haas booked his place in the fourth round with a four-set victory over Dmitry Tursunov and will next face Federer.
Few would give the German 13th seed a chance against Federer, and many are predicting a repeat of last year's final between Federer and French Open champion Rafael Nadal, the first and second seeds.
"Every tennis fan knows that there are more than just Federer, Nadal; there are a lot of other personalities out there," said Haas, who won two of his first three meetings with Federer, but has lost the last seven in a row.
"You have to give it up to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for the past years for how consistent they've been playing and how well they've been doing.
"Look at the results Rafael Nadal has been having on clay, which is quite phenomenal. Roger, obviously the last three years his statistics have been quite amazing as well, so it's no wonder we all talk about it.
"But I'm happy to be in the position I am again right now, thinking that if Roger would go through and beat Marat Safin, giving myself another opportunity to have a chance against the best player in the world, and I'll give it my best.
"I mean, we've had some good battles the last couple times we played. I feel like if my game is going well, if I can serve well, use my chances when I get some, I definitely have a chance."
Also through is France's Paul-Henri Mathieu, who matched Haas' comeback from a set down to beat Croatian 15th seed Ivan Ljubicic 4-6 7-5 6-2 6-3.
Richard Gasquet won the all-French battle on court 13 against Edouard Roger-Vasselin, the 12th seed cruising to a 6-3 6-4 6-2 success.
Gasquet will face another compatriot in the last 16 after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga easily disposed of Tim Henman's conqueror, Spain's Feliciano Lopez.
Tsonga is a former top junior player just making a name for himself in the senior ranks after injury problems, the 22-year-old winning the Surbiton Challenger before defeating former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt in the Artois Championships at Queen's recently.
