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SHANGHAI ATP MASTERS 1000

October 13, 2009

Tommy Haas

SHANGHAI, CHINA

T. HAAS/B. Becker
7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did it feel out there? What did you make of it? What did you make of the match today?
TOMMY HAAS: Overall pretty pleased. I mean, you know, it's never that easy to play first match in such a long time. Last match was in obviously US Open. I had some time to, you know, take a little bit of time off and prepare myself for the last few events of the year, so never easy to play countrymen or a player that you like and I'm pretty good friends with. Never easy, but I think the first set was quite important. I had some chances I think at 3-All, a couple of breakpoints I didn't use, and then the tiebreak was important that I, you know, could close it, especially being up 6-2, and then it came back to 6-5. Just had one good break in the second set and served it out, so pretty happy.

Q. The break that you had after the US Open, is that something you think you'll continue as you're in the twilight of your career of your life? Is that the kind of way you want to do it or was it forced on you?
TOMMY HAAS: No, I think you have to take your times off. I mean, you know, the year is as long as any other in any sports. It's a grind getting to tournaments and trying to prepare yourself and being in good shape to really play your best tennis.
You have to be smart about it, especially the older you get. You have to save your energy for the right tournaments, you know, so that was definitely a plan.

Q. A lot of the other players this week have talked about being tired and needing a rest. You seem very relaxed. It's working for you, the system?
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah. You know, I've had an up-and-down year, so it's been a pretty crazy year for me, even the last couple of years with another shoulder injury.
So, you know, I played not so many tournaments this year really and had really the best summer of my career, and I'm not really stressed out right now, you know, just enjoying this.
Never been to Shanghai before. It's a great tournament. I'm really happy to be here and see the sights and experience it, and then you have three more tournaments for me, going to Europe which are a couple of more tournaments I like. I like that play indoors.
It's really just the last kind of grind, you know, the last couple of tournaments that you try to play your best tennis and then, you know, you have two or three weeks offseason and you start training again for the next year.

Q. It was quite interesting what you said before. You've been on the tour a long time, but you mentioned that it's always very hard to play against your fellow countrymen. I would have thought you're quite used to playing against them and it's not so hard anymore.
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, it doesn't happen that often that you play against your countryman. I mean, I don't know how many times I played -- I played Becker actually this year in Memphis and he got the better of me.
It was a very tight match, and I didn't play my best tennis for sure, so it was nice to get revenge. But still, it's never easy and we're also playing doubles here.
At the end of the day, it's just another person standing across the net hitting the same yellow tennis ball and trying to win the point and essentially try to win the match, so it doesn't change anything, certainly not for me, so just, you know, you go out there and you try to play your game and try to win.

Q. (In Chinese.) So basically you played with Becker in the doubles yesterday against Chinese players, and this is the first time for the Chinese players in this high-level Masters. What's your comment on those Chinese players?
TOMMY HAAS: Yeah, it was a very tight first set. They played extremely well. We had a lot of chances I think to break them I think four out of six times in the service games, but they came out strong and inspired.
The second set they kind of had a little bit of a let-go, and me and Benjamin played a little bit better and used our chances more, but I liked what I saw. It was definitely a fun match.

Q. Just talking about your year, you mentioned you had a great summer, obviously the French Open, that fantastic match with Federer where you came very close. Do you still have nightmares about that and how close you came to beating him and the circumstances of the match?
TOMMY HAAS: Um, not really. It was a great match. I mean, I really enjoyed the way I was playing throughout the whole match, and, you know, it happens, you know. It happens that you get close to winning matches and you lose them, and the same thing happens where you think you're out of a match and you come back and you win them.
On this occasion, it was obviously big, fourth round French Open, and, you know, so it hurts, but the match against Verdasco hurt me just as much when I lost in the third round where I was actually up, up a break in the fifth set, and serving for the second and third set, so I should have won that match. I think I won 10 or 11 more points.
You can always look at it this way or that way, and at the end of the day I think what really it comes down to is that you win the match, and it doesn't matter how much you were up or how close you came. This is all just hopefully parts you learn from and try to change the next time.

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