Novak
Djokovic takes on a surprise opponent Tommy Haas in the quarter-finals on
Wednesday, the 5th June. Haas defeated Mikhail Youzhny in straight
sets in the fourth round. Djokovic took four sets to defeat Philipp
Kohlshreiber. Djokovic leads Haas 4-3 in head-to-head meetings, but Haas took
the honours when they last met in the Sony Open at Miami in March, 2013. Haas
concedes ten years to his opponent, but played well in the fourth round even
after playing 66 games in the third round against John Isner.
Djokovic has
the best combination of defence and offence, aggression and resilience,
forehand and backhand, mobility and court coverage and has the confidence required
of the top seed. Even though he has lost to Haas in the Miami Masters, it is a
different ball game in a Grand Slam. He is unlikely to concede even an inch.
Haas requires errors from the other end to win his matches which will be hard
to come by. Haas can break the rhythm only by attacking the net, but he has not
been seen doing that in the previous matches. Djokovic has sometimes been
troubled by the low slices, but Haas does not employ that as much as Roger
Federer does. Djokovic is more comfortable on clay as compared to Haas, though
the latter has shown his prowess by reaching the quarter-finals of Roland
Garros for the first time in twelve attempts.
Djokovic
is chasing career Grand Slam and has shown unsatiated hunger this year. Haas
has achieved his best at this age and anything further will only be a bonus. It
will be a tall order to upstage the best player in the world.
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