Miracle Run – Hass faces Djokovic at Wimby Quarters

London, Great Britain – Tommy Haas defies age and bookies to reach his first-ever Wimbledon quarterfinals on Monday. The 31-year-old Haas has clocked many miles on the ATP Tour over his long career, but in spite of the many years, numerous shoulder injuries and surgeries and various freak accidents, he is playing some of his best tennis right now. In the lead up to Wimbledon, Haas stunned Novak Djokovic at Halle 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-1 to clinch the title, ending a two-year long title drought. It was his first title victory on grass.

Haas is set to face Djokovic once again in as much time but on this occasion they meet on a bigger stage, with a spot in the Wimbledon semis on the line. Despite losing to Haas at Halle, the Serbian world No.4, Novak Djokovic looms as a legitimate stumbling block in Haas’s path to the semis and if the Serbian has something to say about it, he will hope to stop Haas from replicating his Halle heroics at the All England Club.

Tennis Betting Line:

Tommy Haas +4 -115 +190 41½ O -110 U -130

Novak Djokovic -4 -125 -275 41½ O -110 U -130

Match Time: 08:00 A.M. Eastern Time Wednesday July 1 2009

Head-to-Head Series: Novak Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 2-1 lifetime but they are level 1-1 in 2009; the most recent victory belongs to Haas, having beaten Djokovic in Halle.

Tommy Haas +190: Tommy Haas has the confidence of having beaten Djokovic recently to take into this match, giving Haas a legitimate chance against Djokovic on Wednesday. The 31-year-old German not surprisingly enters this match as the underdog, listed at +190 at BetOnline Sportsbook. After the marathon third round match against Marin Cilic that went the distance and spanned two days, it was important that he won his R16 encounter over Igor Andreev in straight sets. He should be well rested and fresh for his quarterfinal battle. Important at his age – something that many see as a handicap against him. He, of course, disagrees.

Novak Djokovic -275: Novak Djokovic has cruised so far this fortnight and reaches the quarterfinals without much fuss. In the R16, he faced the least threatening opponent in Dudi Sela; evinced by the easy victory he nicked 6-2, 6-4, 6-1. At the start of the tournament, the World No.4 was third in line favoured for the Wimbledon title but there was a huge spike in the odds between him and second in line for the crown, Andy Murray. So far, Djokovic has delivered on his top five pretensions and he sneaks up in the draw almost out of nowhere. Did the bookies get it wrong when they cast him at such long odds?

Tennis Betting Verdict: Djokovic will try to reverse the Halle result on the hallowed grounds of the All England Club. He didn’t play particularly well in that final, especially in the third and deciding set. The fact that Haas was on home turf might have had something to do with the Serbian’s complete loss of focus in that last set, which he donated 6-1. At Wimbledon, it will be a different story.

Speaking of stories, Haas is enjoying a fairytale run at Wimby. His first week was a dramatic affair (the Cilic match amazing) and it is even more unreal how well he played against Andreev to book his quarterfinal spot. Significant is the fact that he beat Djokovic already on grass. Read into it if you want. I think I will.

Tennis Free Picks: Haas in five sets