Roger Federer was dominant on grass courts, winning 19 titles on the surface during his tennis career.
Throughout tennis history, few players have performed better on a single surface than Federer on grass.
The Swiss star won Wimbledon eight times and went unbeaten at the event for five years between 2003-2007.
Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images
Beating him on grass was almost impossible at times, especially for players past their ‘physical peak’.
However, in 2017, a 39-year-old ATP Tour veteran on the verge of retirement pulled off one of the biggest upsets of his career to beat Federer in Stuttgart.
Tommy Haas beat Roger Federer for his final-ever ATP Tour win in Stuttgart eight years ago
Appearing on the Tennis Channel, Germany’s Tommy Haas recalled what happened during his 17th career meeting with Federer.
“I think I was 2-6, 1-2 down in the second set, and we played about maybe 29, 30 minutes. I was just thinking in the changeover, God, I really hope I can stay out here for at least an hour, you know,” he said.
“Anytime you lose a match and it says 58, 59 minutes, less than an hour, it was pretty embarrassing. So I told myself, try to stay out here.
“Somehow, I won the second set in a tiebreak, and I was in the match, and I looked at the clock again during a changeover, it’s been an hour and 25 minutes, I was like, third set, anything can happen now.
“I did feel my lower back tightening up again, so I was sort of relaxed because I was so furious with myself or with my body that once again I’m dealing with an injury while I’m playing here against Roger [Federer], trying to win this match.”
Haas somehow battled back to win in three sets, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4, and considered retiring there and then.
“I was so relaxed and so p—- off inside, that I somehow found a way to win that match,” he said.
“As I’m walking to the net, I’m thinking to myself, you know what, my family’s here, I was telling myself I should just take the microphone and say that’s it for me, I’m done.
“You know it’s not going to get any better than this, but then of course, you’re talking to yourself and you still wanted to play in Halle, I still wanted to play in Hamburg, I still wanted to play in Kitzbuhel, to say goodbye, you know.”
His win over Federer was his 569th and last, losing his next six singles matches before officially announcing his retirement in March 2018.
Photo by Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images
“I didn’t retire [after beating Federer], but I never won another match again, every time it got tight or close, set points or trying to win a match, I couldn’t do it,” said Haas.
“It’s a great thing to say, the last match I won on tour was against Roger Federer on grass, I mean that’s not a bad thing.
“Every time I see Roger, I say the last time we played, I got you.”
Tommy Haas explains why he thinks his tennis career was ‘pretty average’
Haas enjoyed a stellar tennis career before retiring in 2018, winning 15 tour-level titles, reaching a career-high ranking of number two in the world.
He did, however, fail to win a Grand Slam title, despite qualifying for four semi-finals and now shares how he reflects on his time in tennis.
- 1999 Australian Open SF – Tommy Haas lost to Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 3-6, 4-6, 5-7
- 2002 Australian Open SF – Tommy Haas lost to Marat Safin, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 0-6, 2-6
- 2007 Australian Open SF – Tommy Haas lost to Fernando Gonzalez, 1-6, 3-6, 1-6
- 2009 Wimbledon SF – Tommy Haas lost to Roger Federer, 6-7, 5-7, 3-6
“It was a pleasure to play on tour for 20 years, with, of course, lots of ups and downs,” said Haas.
“Some injuries that I had to come back from, but you have your good angel and your devil angel on both shoulders.
“One is telling you basically your career was just pretty much average because you didn’t really achieve the things you wanted to achieve.
“Ultimately that was to become a Grand Slam champion, and I felt like I had a good chance in 2001 and 2002, when I was playing my best tennis, then things changed around when I had two back-to-back shoulder surgeries and I had to re-develop my game a little bit, didn’t have that pop on my serve anymore.
Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“Just proud of the fact that I was able to still go out there, compete, and win matches, win titles. But never really reaching the pinnacle, but that’s how it goes.”
Haas may not have won a Grand Slam, but he did pick up an Olympic silver medal and won a Masters 1000 title at his home tournament in Stuttgart.
The German’s legacy will live long in the memory, after producing some tennis that was well above average during his time on tour.