Haas back in Munich final after 13 years

Evergreen Tommy Haas reached the Munich claycourt final on Saturday, 13 years after his first appearance ended in defeat. Haas, 35, saw off Croatia’s Ivan Dodig 6-4, 6-3 and will now face defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber in Sunday’s all-German final.

Haas reached the Munich final in 2000 when he lost in straight sets to Argentina’s Franco Squillari.

“It’s quite crazy (to be back in the final). I don’t think it’s really hit me yet,” said Haas, who will be seeking his 14th career title on Sunday.

“Thirteen years is a long time and it’s pretty impressive, I think, to achieve something like that.

“I’d like to go one step further and win the title here once, that’s my main goal right now.” It will be the first all-German final on the tour since 2011 in Halle. Haas is bidding to win the tournament for the first time on his 10th appearance in Munich.

“It’s great for German tennis,” added Haas, a former world number two. “We played really well last year in all the German events and now again we’re going to have an all-German final, which I think is great for the fans.” Victory on Sunday would be his first tournament win since beating Roger Federer on grass at Halle last year. On Monday, he will be up to 13th in the world rankings.

AFP