Tennis: The "Tommy Guns" keep firing

The M1 Thompson, or the ‘Tommy Gun’ as it is more popularly known, occupies a special place in the history of wars and weapon systems. It was one of the most extensively used weapons in the early part of the 20th century. From “Prohibition Era” gangsters and policemen alike in the United States to soldiers during World War II, the ‘Tommy’ was a most successful weapon of choice. Hollywood has given it much spotlight in movies such as ‘The Godfather’, ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘The Inglourious Basterds’. The best part about the ‘Tommy Gun’ is that it never gets old.
>Tennis has two of its own – 35 year old Tommy Haas and 31 year old Tommy Robredo. The two veterans have not only had superb seasons, but have had to come through their fair share of adversity in getting back to this level.

Tommy Haas – Back where he belongs?

For Tommy Haas, it’s a return to where he believes he truly belongs, amongst the best players in the men’s game. Few would disagree, for this is a man who was a prodigious talent as a youngster when he first burst through onto the circuit in 1998. He was touted to be the successor to the Pete Sampras-Andre Agassi generation and, along with Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin, was widely expected to dominate the men’s game in the coming decade. At the time, he boasted an impressive record against notable former and future no. 1 ranked players: 3–0 against Andy Roddick, 5–5 against Pete Sampras, 2–1 against Roger Federer, 2–1 against Marat Safin, and 2–0 against Jim Courier.

Haas, at the age of 22, had won the Silver medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Post that success, the circuit saw a meteoric rise in the German’s game as he reached the No.2 ranking in the world in 2001. But, that’s when tragedy would befall the young Haas – late in 2001, a severe accident nearly claimed the lives of his parents, while leaving his father in a coma. The incident derailed his career in a big way as he spent most of the next year and a half taking care of his family and paying less attention to his tennis. Just when he was about to get back to the tour proper, after having overseen his parents’ recovery, he was struck down by a serious shoulder injury that required operating, and forced him to miss the entire 2003 season.

Frequent injuries and fitness issues hampered Haas’ prospects for the next 5 seasons and though he made a comeback into the top 10 in 2008, it was short-lived because of a serious hip injury, on which he had an operation. Having veered way off course to 896 in the rankings in June 2011, Haas encountered his second wind so to say, a recovery that has brought him back to No.11 in the world in about exactly 2 years. And at the age of 35, into the twilight of his career, he is enjoying one of his finest seasons ever; he made the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time in his career last week, with a sprightliness belying his age. His backhand carries the same zing that it used to in the earlier days and is still one of the best one-handers in the business.

On 27 January 2010, Tommy Haas became a full-fledged United States citizen and now permanently resides in Brandenton, Florida with his wife and daughter. But there is no doubt as to the two things that give him the most joy in his life as his Twitter bio aptly reveals – “Father and Still Tennis player :-)” – the key word being ‘still’.