Haas Defeats Kiefer to Win L.A. Tourney

Tommy Haas turned in a performance fit for a king this week, but a governor will have to do.

Haas, who knocked out top-seeded Andre Agassi en route to the final, finished off an impressive run Sunday with a 7-6 (6), 6-4 victory over fellow German Nicolas Kiefer in the Mercedes-Benz Cup final at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

His prize? How about a trophy, 35 world-ranking points, $52,000 and dinner with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Haas overcame a 5-1 deficit in the first-set tiebreaker, then took control with an early break in the second set and won his second title this year and the seventh of his career in the ATP’s first all-German final since 1994.

He planned to celebrate with dinner at the governor’s Pacific Palisades residence. Schwarzenegger and Haas’ father, Peter, attended grade school together in Austria and they remain close friends.

“I lifted a trophy again, which was such an unbelievable feeling for me and such a great accomplishment,” Haas said. “Obviously I would love to win a Grand Slam one year if possible ... but titles like this also are something very special to me.”

That’s because not too long ago, Haas wouldn’t have been able to lift a trophy. He had surgery to repair his right shoulder in December 2002, and had a second surgery on the same shoulder last July.

The rehabilitation was difficult and Haas said at times that he nearly gave up. Instead of spending time with his physical therapist, Haas, who lives in Florida, said he would take unannounced trips to Las Vegas, Los Angeles or Germany.

“I couldn’t see some physical therapist digging in my armpit every day for two hours,” he said.

The pain of not being able to play to a level he expected was worse. Haas once reached No. 2 in the world. He advanced to the Australian Open semifinals in 1999 and 2002. He was the silver medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics for Germany.

Unable to perform an act as simple as reaching for a serve, Haas nearly quit.

“There were times where I definitely threw in the towel, but it’s all part of it,” he said. “You have to go through that, I think. In the end it’s just proof that if you work hard and if you believe in yourself and have a great team around you, it’s possible to still have some success.”

Sunday, he fought off two set points in the first-set tiebreaker before he sent a running forehand past Kiefer, who was at the net, and took a 7-6 lead. It was Haas’ first lead of the tiebreaker, and he wasted little time closing it out.

Kiefer used a serve-and-volley strategy early and stuck with it throughout the match although he hadn’t planned it.

“I had another strategy and I didn’t use it in the beginning and I was up 4-2,” Kiefer said. “And I just tried to keep on playing the same game. It almost worked out, but when it was important, instead of pulling up one more gear, I was playing the same level.”

Haas fought off three consecutive break points after going down, 40-0, but won the game and took a 4-2 lead in the second set. Two games later, Kiefer had another break chance with a 30-0 lead, but became frustrated because he could hear television announcer Dick Vitale, who had joined the ESPN2 broadcast team as a guest.

Kiefer hit a forehand return error, then glanced at chair umpire Lars Graff and muttered what appeared to be a complaint as he pointed at the announcers’ booth at the top of the stadium. Before Haas’ next serve, some fans yelled, “Shut up, Vitale.” On the next point, Kiefer mis-hit a backhand return well wide and Haas won the game for a 5-3 lead. Two games later, Haas closed the match with a perfect backhand pass up the line.

Kiefer said the loud talking did not affect his play, but called it a breach of etiquette.

“They should just show a little bit more respect,” he said. “They shouldn’t just take care about themselves, about the TV, about all this. They just should respect that we are fighting on the court and not only about their job.”

Haas also earned 35 points in the U.S. Open series race. This was the first tournament in the series, which will award a monetary bonus at the U.S. Open to those who accumulate the most points in the 10-tournament series.

The series is supposed to draw interest to the events leading to the U.S. Open and increased television is part of it. In the doubles final, top-seeded twins Mike and Bob Bryan defeated second-seeded Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley, 6-3, 7-6 (6).