Tommy Haas returns to enjoying tennis on the Indian Wells courts after the coronavirus pandemic forced to cancel the tournament in the 2020 edition and postpone it to October in 2021. The director of the BNP Paribas Open gave an interview to the French newspaper L’Équipe in which he reviewed the current affairs of tennis.
Haas was very impressed with the performance of Daniil Medvedev before the Russian fell in the round of 16 to Grigor Dimitrov. “Now the new generation is on top. Medvedev has impressed me since his final with Nadal at the US Open 2019. I really like his technique. It’s not like the old school, but he’s in the right position many times, I know. he moves very well and is very intelligent. He plays so far from the line that he gets his opponent to play one more ball and looks for the gaps to put the ball down. “
The former German tennis player also spoke about his great friend Roger Federer, who he said he hopes to play again and revealed between March, April and May 2022 news will be known about the future of the Swiss in tennis. “Federer has just turned 40, loves life and has achieved a lot. Do you still have the itch to compete? Sure. Do you want to come back and play at the highest level? Sure. We all love him and he will never go away, but it all depends on how he overcomes his knee injury. I think we will have a decision on its future in March, April or May 2022. “
Haas also believes that Federer will do his best to get to Wimbledon where he can go further and is also confident that Nadal is fit for another round at Roland Garros. “Federer loves life but he is still hungry and hopes to come back and stop when he wants, deciding when to tell yourself that you don’t like it or that you lose frequently. At Wimbledon we saw that he was somewhat injured. But he will do everything possible to come back and I am one hundred percent sure that the goal is to be at Wimbledon, it is his best surface and where he can go further. As for Rafa, he will continue for another year or two. He hasn’t played in a long time and we’ll have to see how his body recovers. Every year it’s harder, but nor we call him ‘El Toro’ for nothing. I have no doubt that he may be in a position to win a new Roland Garros. It is his land and he is not yet willing to give it up. “
Finally, Haas also expressed his surprise at what happened in the US Open final and believes that Djokovic expressed himself badly before facing the title match against Medvedev. “I was surprised by what happened in the US Open final. When Novak Djokovic beat Zverev in the semifinals and said that he would face the final as if it were the last game of his life, I thought it was not right for him to express himself that way. The public really did. I wanted him to win the Grand Slam and did not understand that, suddenly, he was no longer the “bad boy”. The public forced him to do better but Medvedev had an incredible game. Tennis is an amazing sport and that’s why we like to watch it. With all that pressure, it was already very strong for Djokovic to reach the final. “