This year’s French Open has become a celebration of the sport’s golden oldies and this afternoon the grand-daddy of them all was attempting to strike the biggest blow yet for the older generation.
Germany’s Tommy Haas, aged 35, is the oldest player for 42 years to reach the men’s quarter-finals at Roland Garros but to make any more progress he had to beat Novak Djokovic, the world No1.
Haas was one of four players over the age of 30 to reach the men’s quarter-finals here, which equalled the Open era record at a Grand Slam tournament. It has happened on only three other occasions.
“These are cool stats,” Haas said. “What makes me really proud is that I reached the quarters here for the first time when I didn’t know if that was ever going to be possible.”
Haas, who first played in the French Open 15 years ago, has been one of the unluckiest players, his career having been regularly interrupted by injuries. When he had hip surgery in 2010 it seemed that the end might be beckoning but the former world No2 worked hard to regain his fitness. He did not return to the world’s top 200 until early last year but has made spectacular progress in the last few months, reaching the semi-finals in Miami and winning the title in Munich.
“Who would have thought two years ago I’d be in this position today?” Haas said. “I wouldn’t have thought that way but you’ve got to keep mentally strong. You’ve got to keep believing. There’s never a guarantee but, at the same time, if you work hard, usually it pays off. For me, definitely it has.”
Haas’s victims in Miami three months ago included Djokovic, who suffered his first straight-sets defeat for more than seven months. Meanwhile, it was Haas’s first victory over a world No1 for 14 years.
The winner of today’s re-match will face Rafael Nadal or Stan Wawrinka in Friday’s semi-finals.
