Roger Federer will see a familiar face on the other side of the net when he takes to the Stuttgart grass courts on Wednesday. The Australian Open champion is third on the centre court in the Mercedes Cup, and he will take on good friend Tommy Haas. The German, who is now the tournament director in Indian Wells, is due to retire at the end of the season.
Haas edged big-serving Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to set up the match that most of the neutrals will have wanted to see since the draw was made.
Speaking to the New York Times in 2013 Haas discussed his friendship with Federer. “He’s got two young daughters, and I have a young daughter. We get along really well, and you sort of get into this sort of understanding like this could be a friendship for life. And it’s nice to have that. You don’t have that with many other players on tour. It’s fun being close to someone like that. Because he’s obviously in many ways one of the greatest athletes of all time in my eyes.”
Federer speaking this week, said “It was a great experience last year, a lovely tournament with great people, so I am happy to begin the grass swing here again, playing with Tommy and doing activities in the city together. I can’t wait to play my first match on Wednesday possibly against Tommy. I’m happy to be back in tournament mode again after a 10-week spell of not playing tournaments.”
Federer and Haas have played doubles together in Halle, and the veteran German is one of a select few that have managed to defeat Federer in a grass court final. He joined the likes of Lleyton Hewitt, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic when he won the Halle title in 2012.
The Federer-Haas head-to-head is one of the oldest active in men’s singles. The pair played their first match together in Sydney Olympics in 2000, with Haas the victor on that occasion. The current score in the head-to-head is 13-3 in Federer’s favour.
Haas and Federer will take to the court after the conclusion of the matches between Yannick Hanfmann and Mischa Zverev, and Steve Johnson and Philipp Kohlschreiber.
