Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Haas downs Djokovic to win Halle title

June 14, 2009 19:57 IST

Tommy Haas won his first title in more than two years when he beat world number four Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 in the Halle tournament final on Sunday.

Haas, a former world number two who had not won a title since Memphis in 2007 after being plagued by a shoulder injury, was the more consistent in a baseline encounter that lasted two hours 12 minutes.

Both players stayed on the baseline and initially held serve comfortably, allowing no break opportunity. The 31-year-old Haas, world number 41, finally carved out a break at 4-3 to serve out the set a game later.

Djokovic, who has had trouble adjusting to the grass after a long clay court season, added more variety to his game, rushing at times to the net to force a tiebreak in the second set.

The 22-year-old Serbian took advantage of an erratic Haas, who double-faulted three times in the tiebreak to hand Djokovic the set.

Djokovic himself double-faulted on a break point to allow Haas to grab a 2-0 lead in the third set. He then wasted four break points of his own, allowing the German to go 3-0 up before being brokenĀ again.

Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.