Tommy Haas trounces Michael Russell to reach round two – Citi Open 2012
Fourth seeded wildcard entrant, Tommy Haas, got the better of America’s Michael Russell in an all-veteran affair at the Citi Open 2012 on Tuesday. He jolted down a 6-4, 6-2 victory against his 34-year-old age fellow to secure a spot in the second round at
this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 series event taking place in Washington D.C.
The former world number two, Haas recreated his magic to outmuscle the American in their third duel against each other. After pocketing the match in one hour and 15 minutes, the German not only improved to a 3-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series
against the world number 81 but also inched closer towards his second year-to-date title.
Haas, who is coming off from a final showdown at the bet-at-home Open in Hamburg, entered the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center with same spirit. He smoothly held his opening serve in the second game and levelled the scores at 1-1. The German brought
held his remaining serves with poise and got the breakthrough in the seventh game after drawing the first blood. He cashed in the lone break chance and swiped his entire serves without encountering any barrier, consequently clicking the set with a 6-4 success.
Currently ranked 36th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Haas maintained his intensity in the following set. After Russell held his serve in the third game, the German unleashed his true form and reeled off the last five games
in a row, eventually sealing the set by winning six games to two. He again pocketed his entire serves smoothly and converted two out of six break chances to his advantage.
Next up for Haas is the Argentinean star, Leonardo Mayer, who trashed Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets to set up this meeting.
The top seed, Mardy Fish, will join the German in the second round. He made a sloppy start but eventually overpowered Bjorn Phau in a three-set thriller. The world number 15 lost his serve once but capitalised on four out of nine break chances, consequently
sealing the deal with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 score line.
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