Qualifier Gilles Muller Ousts Tommy Haas

Fast play is generally not Tommy Haas’s forte and his second round match against qualifier Gilles Muller of Luxembourg was no exception. The 30-year-old German native tore through the first two sets and then, within three points of winning the match, turned the set, and ultimately the match over to Muller, who won 2-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 6-3, after three hours and 12 minutes.

In the first set, Muller opened with an ace, but Haas responded by breaking him to take not just the first game, but the first four games, after which 25-year-old Muller banged his racket on the ground in frustration.

Haas on the other hand, made few mistakes at the outset, hitting the ball with great speed and precision. At deuce in game five, play abruptly stopped as a bird landed on the net, unaware that he was impeding the match’s progress. A ball girl shooed him away and Muller subsequently won his first game.

After winning the first set, Haas continued to move through the second with a fair amount of ease. Both players had very effective serves, with Muller hitting regularly in excess of 120 mph.

Muller, who had already played five matches to get to this point (including three qualifying matches) continued to show emotion, banging his racket on the ground and on his racket bag. His behavior prompted looks from the chair umpire, but no warnings. Struggling with his baseline shots, he sent shot after shot into the net and long.

Then, in the third set, the tide began to turn. At six all, and up 4-3 in the tiebreak, Haas protested when a ball that he (and the large and vocal crowd) thought was out was called in. He approached the chair umpire yelling and pointing, while the crowd gave catcalls, and as he arrived beneath the chair shouted, “Are you insane right now?” He then approached the judge in question and took him to task as well. Muller pulled the set out, sending the match into a fourth.

The fourth set was all Muller as his form and focus seemed to improve and Haas could not make any inroads. At the end of the set, Haas suffered a finger injury on his right hand and called for a trainer.

At that point, all those present on Court 11 could see the writing on the wall and the fifth set was a downward spiral for Haas, as he could not make anything happen to get back on track.

Muller now advances to the third round for the first time, where he will face the winner of the match between No. 18 seed Nicolas Almagro of Spain and American Sam Warburg.