No. 1 seed Tommy Haas eliminates Marat Safin in LA Tennis Open quarterfinals
In his seventh appearance at the LA Tennis Open, Tommy Haas of Germany rallied with Marat Safin during the quarterfinal match on Friday.
By Johnny Rath
Aug. 1, 2009 12:10 a.m.
It was the seesaw ride that would not stop.
No. 1 seed Tommy Haas battled Marat Safin at the Los Angeles Tennis Open on Friday night to advance to the semifinals 7-6 (3), 6-2.
“It was a tight match tonight,” Haas said. “The first set was kind of crazy. “¦ I got the first break tonight, and I think that was the key.”
Both players flip-flopped game wins then alternated breaks before reaching a tiebreak in the first set.
Haas took momentum into the second set and earned the victory.
Haas and Safin had their frustrating moments, vocally displaying their anger at bad shots and mistakes they made.
Safin was not happy with his first serve, which he only got 52 percent of the time. He hit a couple of balls into the net in disgust in what turned out to be his last match in Los Angeles. The former No. 1 player in the world will retire at the end of this season.
Haas, the current No. 22 player, moves on to face No. 32 Sam Querrey in search of his third LA Tennis Open title.
“It’s nice to get to a title,” Haas said. “It’s something you always want to accomplish. I have a great opponent tomorrow in Sam Querrey.”
Querrey beat Israeli Dudi Sela 6-3, 7-5 Friday afternoon to advance. Tallying nine aces and winning 93 percent of his service points, Querrey made it to his third ATP semifinal this season.
THE BRYANS’ DRIVE FOR FIVE: The Bryan brothers defeated the Brazilian team of Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa 6-2, 6-4.
Bob and Mike Bryan have won the tournament four times previously and will take on the winner between the team of Germans Benjamin Becker and Frank Moser and Denis Istomin (UZB) and Leonardo Mayer (ARG) in Sunday’s final.
The twins from Camarillo are the No. 1 doubles team in the world and have won 10 straight matches.
FISH OUT: Mardy Fish, the second seed in the singles draw, has withdrawn from the tournament. He pulled himself out because of an abdominal strain.
Fish, the top-ranked American in the tournament, was due to play Leonardo Mayer in the quarterfinals on Friday. Mayer will automatically advance to the semifinals, where he will face Australian Carsten Ball this afternoon.
