Can Haas Stop Federer and History at the All England Club?

London, Great Britain –The leading storyline in the men’s game is Roger Federer positioning himself to eclipse Pete Sampras’record for Grand Slam titles (14) after he equalled that record at Roland Garros last month. After that Andy Murray ending Britain’s title drought at the All England Club and winning his maiden major title is just a subplot at Wimbledon – although some would have it (ahem – British sentiment) as the only plotline. If Federer emerges into the final – as is the widely established expectation – he would be a victory away from making history and setting himself apart from his contemporaries and predecessors.

Each player that stepped up to take his best shot at Roger Federer on Centre Court this fortnight, even before the first swing of a racquet was unduly scrutinized and examined, the underlying significance: could they be the one to stop Federer and history at the All England Club. So it is that Tommy Haas, next in line to take a shot at the maestro in the Wimbledon semis, is probed, saddled with the “unrealistic” (or is it?) prospect of beating Federer.

Compared to the run-of-the-mill opponents Federer has faced thus far – exception being maybe Ivo Karlovic as there is nothing run-of-the-mill about his serve (nothing at all) – Haas can really “bring it” to Federer on Friday, a trait that is thrown into particularly sharp relief given the lacklustre efforts of his precursors. He came close to masterminding the upset in the Round of 16 at Roland Garros when he took a two set lead over Federer before bowing out in five sets. Might he do it, do it for real this time?

Tennis Betting Line:

Tommy Haas +6½ -140 +700 34½ O -140 U Ev 14½ O -120 U -120

Roger Federer -6½ Ev -1600 34½ O -140 U Ev 19½ O -115 U -125

Match Time: 08:00 A.M. Eastern Time Friday July 3 2009

Tennis Betting Line: The +700 underdog odds don’t exactly scream “he has a legitimate chance” against Federer but know that he does. Haas is an exceptional serve and volley player and what he failed to accomplish on clay, he has a better chance of doing on grass. He beat Djokovic that way in fact; and reminded us once again how the traditional serve and volleyers did it on grass back in the day. Tommy will have to exorcise the demons of his Roland Garros loss though. Put it behind him. While he is at it, he might forget about his record against Federer as well – more about that later. Next, actually ...

Roger Federer holds an impressive 9-2 mark over Tommy Haas, which includes the recent comeback from behind win at Roland Garros in which Federer stormed back to win 6-7(4), 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2. Federer never was “not competitive” in that match; Haas just lost his edge in the fourth and fifth sets after squandering a chance to close the match in the third. For all the talk about the nigh upset, there is nothing in that performance that Federer should question. No inner doubt he needs to quell. Should he, doubt himself that is, he need only turn to his La Coupe des Mousquetaires (Musketeer’s Trophy – sounds better in French, no?) to find reassurance.