Haas delights locals with victory
MUNICH, Germany -- Tommy Haas delighted the home fans after surging into the semi-finals of the BMW Open with a 7-6 7-6 win over Australian veteran Wayne Arthurs.
It is the first time Haas has reached the last four since 2000 and he now hopes to become the first German to win the trophy since Michael Stich in 1994.
The fourth seed claimed Arthurs had one of the best serves in tennis before the match but he did not need to break service once - winning two tense tie-breaks.
At 6-6 the first set was decided by a tie-break and Arthurs looked in control at 4-1 up but Haas produced some devastating ground strokes to win 8-6.
"It was not easy against Arthurs," admitted Haas. "I was behind in the first tie-break but fought my way back."
In the second set left-hander Arthurs was booming aces past Haas but he could not break the German ace whose fierce forehands tested his 34-year-old legs to the limit.
A second tie-break contest followed and Haas triumphed 7-5 to reach the last four.
Fifth seeded Romanian Andrei Pavel will face Haas after beating Dutchman Raemon Sluiter 6-1 3-6 6-3 in his quarter-final match.
"Pavel is a very good player," acknowledged Haas. "We have had some close battles in the past."
Argentina's number one seed David Nalbandian is the favorite to win the competition after cruising into the last four with a 6-0 6-4 victory over compatriot Juan Monaco.
Nalbandian has hardly had to break sweat since arriving in Munich and the 2002 Wimbledon finalist will face Finnish qualifier Jarkko Nieminen in the semi-final.
Nieminen came out on top against Slovakian Michal Mertinak 3-6 6-1 6-4 and will hope to go one better than in 2003 when Roger Federer beat him in the final.
