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WIMBLEDONJuly 1, 2015Tommy HaasLONDON, ENGLAND M. RAONIC/T. Haas THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Tough to have a guy shut it down that way, firing a couple three aces and end of story, right? TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, pretty much. I mean, that serve is special, that's for sure. It's been a while since I faced a serve like that. I mean, the last time really was when I played him in San Jose finals. I felt like even there I was playing actually some good tennis and didn't have a chance. You know, obviously not the best start for me. He came out firing and swinging away, and I sort of ‑‑ believe it or not, I put some Kinesio tape on my shoulder to keep everything back, and I think it was too strong so I couldn't really reach for my serve in the beginning. I didn't figure that out until beginning of the second set. But either way, he played extremely well in the beginning and put me under pressure and made my mind think a lot of things right away and took a lot of confidence away. But, you know, that's the beauty of the best of five is that you're never really out of it until really the last point. Would have been great to have taken it to a fifth, but, you know, he served really well. Q. They talk a lot about the grass being a lot slower now than it used to be back in the day. How does that affect the serve of a guy like that? How much less dangerous is it, if at all? TOMMY HAAS: I don't think it matters really what surface or what balls, you know, you use when you have a serve or a weapon that Milos possesses. I think overall it's a bit slower than it used to be when I first came here back in the mid '90s, for sure. I think something has changed with the balls, as well, that they puff up a little bit more. As soon as you get new balls, you see sort of the speed go up a little bit. But it is what it is, and you have to adjust and still try to play aggressive tennis if you can. You know, for some it works; for some it doesn't. I think it's nice to see more rallies, I guess, on grass overall. Q. Do you see any evolution in Milos' game from, say, 2013? TOMMY HAAS: Well, I have seen his career. I have seen how he progressed. I remember when he came up when he was 17, 18 years old, and, you know, back then he already had big weapons. He was not just really controlling them yet. When he controls his game, when he is on and swinging away and feeling confident, he's one of the best players in the world. No doubt about that. You know, at glimpses today you can see he's very, very dangerous and he's definitely one of the dark horses here in the draw that can go really far. He proved it here last year. You know, that serve is‑‑ you know, I wish I had a serve like that just one time in a match just to see how that would feel (smiling). You know, I was joking with my last surgery on my shoulder that maybe we can put some titanium in there where I can maybe just get more speed but it wasn't possible. Q. Were you surprised how badly he misses sometimes? TOMMY HAAS: We all miss badly sometimes. You know, that's part of the game. Maybe he does it a few more times than others. He's a very risky player so it's going to happen. Q. You brought up your surgeries and you have also said you don't really like to look back. But you have had so many illnesses and surgeries and setbacks that way. Could you just talk about that? Do you think it's a matter of bad luck? Or just reflect on that. TOMMY HAAS: Who knows? I mean, I'm still here, still playing. Some people have more bad luck and never can come back from an injury. Some people have no injuries throughout their career. Is it really the DNA? Is it, you know, what we have from our parents, our grandparents? Is it how you train? Who really knows, right, what's the right answer to that? You take it as it comes. You deal with it as it comes. You try to learn from certain mistakes or certain things that your body might have, injuries occurring, weaknesses in your body. Some muscles might not be firing the same way they should; therefore you just keep pounding on the tendons. Who really knows? I'm still thankful for the opportunities I give myself and still enjoy being out there and try to train hard and, you know, give myself chances like I did today. Playing on Court 1 in Wimbledon at my age, my career, was very special. I'm not going to forget it, that's for sure. Came pretty close to maybe going to a fifth set. You know, I'm heading in the right direction again. I'm definitely not there where I want to be, but, you know, more than working hard I can't do. Q. You said you learned from all these setbacks. What's the prime thing you have learned going through all you did healthwise? TOMMY HAAS: Try to avoid them (smiling). That would be the best thing. Surgery is not fun. Q. How special is it to have your family around and, you know, and your daughter? TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, it's great, you know. Who knows if I didn't have them, if I didn't have a daughter, if I was still that motivated to come back out here and play. That's one of the main reasons. You know, I love having them around. It's great. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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