In 2011 this man only managed to win 7 matches and he had only one win against a top thirty player (World number 29, Juan Ignacio Chela) and his career seemed to be in decline. In fact, when he played his final game of the year, in October 2011, his ranking was a lowly 273. In 2012 he would go on to have one of his finest years on the tour and as we sit here, reviewing the season, he currently sits at number 21 in the rankings. My 2012 Most Improved Player and the Comeback Player of the Year is, of course, 34 year old Tommy Haas.
Tommy Haas broke on to the tour in 1996 and he wasn't long about making a name for himself. In 1998 he beat André Agassi at Wimbledon and went unbeaten (4-0) in Davis Cup action and led Germany to the World Team Championships with yet another unblemished record (4-0). In 1999 he won his first tour level title in Memphis. He won silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, an event he considered not travelling to. In 2001, he won four ATP titles and won 57 matches which is still a career best for one year. In 2002 he became the world number 2 despite playing most of the year with a shoulder injury. He missed six weeks of the tour when his parents were involved in a car accident and he took time off to look after them.
Since then he has struggled to put a full season together due to injury. Before his injuries Haas was on the rise and was destined for great things. He was almost sure to have become the number one player in the world and it is my belief that he would have won multiple Grand Slams. The injuries he has sustained in his career would have retired any other man. In December 1995 he broke his right ankle which required surgery and in December 1996 he needed surgery on a broken left ankle. He won his Olympic silver medal while suffering from a bulging disc in his back. He missed the entire 2003 season due to surgery on his right rotator cuff and in the same year he also had arthroscopic surgery on the same shoulder. In 2007 he had to have more shoulder surgery and also suffered from a sinus infection.
In 2009 we saw a resurgence from the German and he beat Novak Djokovic twice during the grass court season and almost beat Roger Federer at the French Open. He even won his first grass court title in Halle but didn't manage much play after the US Open due to more injuries. 2010 was supposed to be a year to build on his success but he had to undergo season ending hip surgery in February 2010. In March of that year he also had to have right elbow surgery. After a disappointing return in 2011 where he failed to make any impression on the tour many expected Haas to retire. What came next was nothing short of incredible.
This season Haas managed to play relatively injury free and despite his age he showed us why he is still one of the best talents in the sport. He put up a strong showing against Nadal in Melbourne but found the Spaniard in imperious form. His season didn't really get going until late April when he returned to Germany to play in Munich on clay. It was here his season really started. He beat world number 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Marcos Baghdatis before falling to Marin Cilic in the semi finals. He was disappointed not to receive a wild card for the French Open but put that behind him to qualify and reach the third round before falling to Richard Gasquet. In June, we saw the very best of Tommy. He returned to Germany for the grass court event in Halle. He beat Bernard Tomic and Marcel Granollers before getting a win over world number 7 Tomas Berdych. In the semi finals he beat Philip Kohlschreiber before giving an exhibition of tennis to defeat Roger Federer in the final. From start to finish he dominated the Swiss maestro to win his 13th tour title. To put that win into context the same Roger Federer went on to win another Wimbledon title three weeks later.
A disappointing loss at Wimbledon to Kohslchreiber in five sets was quickly put behind him as he reached the final in Hamburg. In a close battle with Juan Monaco he couldn't quite get it done as the Argentine beat him 7-5 6-4. Despite losing the final Haas had scored some huge wins that week over Marin Cilic and Gilles Simon. Impressively, he went reached the final in Washington a few weeks later before losing to Aleksandr Dolgopolov. This meant that in the space of 6 weeks he went from grass courts to clay courts to hard courts reaching the final in a tournament on all three surfaces. In Canada, he beat David Nalbandian, Simon and Radek Stepanek before falling to Novak Djokovic. Djokovic had to be at his best to finally beat the German and praised the attacking game Haas brought to the court. In Cincinnati, Haas again beat Nalbandian before Juan Martin Del Potro had too much power for him. His Summer ended with a disappointing loss at the US Open to Ernests Gulbis.
Haas beat Nicolas Almagro, Tommy Robredo and the crushed world number 9 Janko Tipsarevic before falling to Djokovic in the quarter finals. When Haas beat Jesse Levine in Vienna he earned his 500th career win on the tour. This achievement is an incredible statistic for a man who spent much of his career on the sidelines or playing through pain. Haas didn't take part in any other event this season after the death of his father in law. The ATP officially recognised Haas as their comeback player of the year which showed how highly his fellow players regard him.
Tommy Haas has shown this year that anything can be achieved if you put in the effort and believe in yourself. I think this year has shown that Haas has as much talent as anybody else on the tour. If he stayed healthy throughout his career then I think he would have been a major disruption to Roger Federer's record breaking Grand Slam haul. Haas plays with freedom and takes the game to his opponent. There is no better sight in the game than Haas stepping on to the baseline and firing backhands. Haas has already committed to playing next year and the question must be asked: Is there a limit to how far he can go? He has already jumped from 273 in the world to 21 and that's including his disappointing results in Grand Slams. The Australian Open is the event he has had most success in and he 2013 edition will be his 50th appearance at a major. If Haas can produce the same game that saw him beat top 30 players consistently.
The fact that Haas even played the tour this year was an achievement giving his injury history but to have the success he had was something nobody would have expected. Tommy stated earlier this year that given his injuries he hasn't gone through the wear and tear that most players his age have gone through and he feels that will allow him play longer. I see Haas having even more success next year and as a fan of the German it gives me great pleasure to announce Tommy Haas as My ATP Most Improved Player and the Comeback Player of the Year.
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