1 Response to stuttgart01haas_mirnyi

1. Voo de Mar says:

   January 30, 2024 at 6:11 pm

   Points won by each set: [ 29-19, 26-16, 32-19 ]
   Points won directly on serve:
   41 % Haas – 26 of 62
   37 % Mirnyi – 29 of 78

   The biggest result for them both, almost transcendental: Mirnyi [53] as a qualifier, defeated three players saving match points (began doing it in his first qualifying round!) while the mentally questionable Haas [14] survived in three-setters four straight matches against demanding opponents, coming back from a set down four times! It was tough to expect such a one-sided encounter involving the big serving guy and the crowd favorite, who was struggling a lot to book his place in the final. Two things made an impact on the surprising scoreline: Haas’ backhand was working tremendously well, and Mirnyi’s legs weren’t fresh… even though Haas’ route to the final was very tough, Mirnyi spent more time on the court throughout the week in total, and did it constantly running to the net. Perhaps Haas’ backhand was so good because he simply knew how to read Mirnyi’s serve-and-volley game. They were often training together in Florida (in Bollettieri’s academy), and there was a time between Monte Carlo ’01 and Rome ’02 when Haas beat Mirnyi five times without any troubles, actually it’s unbelievable how their scorelines look like from that period… “This was my nicest victory because I like playing in Germany,” said the 23-year-old Haas. “I really wanted to play well before a home crowd.” He had won two back-to-back titles indoors, ten matches in a row; he won’t repeat this kind of form in another 16 years of his career…

   Haas’ route to his 5th title (first and last Masters 1K):
   2 Sjeng Schalken 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2
   3 Hicham Arazi 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(1)
   Q Tim Henman 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
   S Lleyton Hewitt 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
   W Max Mirnyi 6-2, 6-2, 6-2

   # Haas was five, two & six points away from losing to Schalken, Arazi & Hewitt respectively;
   he trailed *1:3 in the 2nd set vs Schalken and *5:6 (0/30) vs Arazi in the 3rd set to win 11 out of the last 12 points!

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