TENNIS in DEPTH.

Defending champion and No. 2 seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina avoided another upset, as did 10th-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany. Del Potro rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round, and Haas also won his second-round match, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 over Canada’s Frank Dancevic.

No. 8 seed Czech Tomas Berdych defeated Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6 (6) to move into the third round.

Qualifier Somdev Devvarman of India recorded the biggest win of his career Tuesday, upsetting No. 6 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the third round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

Asked if his first career win over a top-20 player was his most significant victory, Devvarman said, “Definitely, definitely.”

In a match that started late Tuesday night and ended well past midnight, del Potro lost the opening set of the match and his hard court season after dropping his serve at 3-all. He stormed back with his own break at 4-3 in the second and after breaking Lu to open the third, the 2008 champion finished off the long night by winning 16 of 18 service points.

“I felt no pressure in defending the Legg Mason Tennis Classic title,” said del Potro, who improved to 35-10 on the year. “It’s just another match.”

After cruising in the first set, Haas went down 1-4 in the second before winning three straight games, but he left the door open by failing to convert on any of his five break point chances on Dancevic’s next service game. Dancevic held and then broke Haas to win the set.

“Next thing you know it’s the third set and it’s a battle,” Haas said. Anything can happen in the third set. I think he started to believe that maybe he could win. But somehow I hung in there, played some good points at the right time.”

Haas broke serve at 3-all in the final set and closed out the match, one he was not aware that he was going to play until he awoke Tuesday morning.

“I didn’t think I was going to play until (Wednesday) because that’s what I was originally told,” said Haas, who reached the semifinals in this event last year. “So when I looked at the schedule this morning online when I woke up, I was shocked to see myself playing at 7 p.m. I switched my whole game plan today. …Overall, I guess now I have a day off tomorrow, which is kind of nice.”

Germany’s Benjamin Becker beat American Robby Ginepri 7-6 (3), 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4) to advance to the second round, where he will face top-seeded Andy Roddick. Roddick, a three-time Washington champion who hasn’t played since his loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, said Monday he’s recovered from the right hip flexor he sustained in the July 5 match.

“It’s going to be the first match for him of the hard court season,” said Becker, who lost both previous matches against Roddick. “It’s going to be a fun match for me. I am just going to try to do some damage.”

In a matchup of former top-10 ranked players, former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain beat Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-0, crediting the win to his ability to thwart eight break points.

“I saved a lot of break points with the serve and it was one of the keys to (stay) alive,” said Ferrero, who will face countryman and No. 7 seed Tommy Robredo in the second round.

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Sam Querrey upset top seeded Tommy Haas 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday night to reach the finals of the L.A. Tennis Open.

Querrey, the No. 6 seed will play qualifier Carsten Ball, who beat Leonardo Mayer 7-5, 7-6 (3) for the title on Sunday.

Querrey saved three break points in the final game while serving for the match and held off Haas at 0-40.

“I just slowed down and took it one point at a time and really played five good points in a row,” Querrey said.

By beating Haas, the 2004 and 2006 champion, Querrey became the first American to reach three straight finals since Andy Roddick in 2004.

“It’s great,” Querrey said. “I’m confident, playing a lot of matches. “I’m just feeling better with every win.”

Querrey improved to 2-3 against Haas, once ranked No. 2 in the world, with both victories this year and is ranked a career-best No. 32 on the tour.

“I think he’s improved,” Haas said. “(When) I played him the first couple of times, he really still was much younger and going for much more, not being smart about his shots. “Now he selects his shots and has improved. I feel like his serve is really a weapon.”

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Marat Safin came from a set down to defeat Ernests Gulbis and set up a clash with top seed Tommy Haas in the quarter-finals of the LA Open.

Eighth seed Safin beat Latvia’s Gulbis 2-6 6-3 6-4 to book a clash against Germany’s Haas, who saw off the United States’ Jesse Levine 6-1 6-3 in 62 minutes.

America’s John Isner overcame an injury late in the second set tie-break to beat out-of-form Marcos Baghdatis 6-3 7-6 and set up a quarter-final meeting with qualifier Carsten Ball.

The Australian progressed as a result of opponent Dmitry Tursunov, the number three seed, having to retire with an ankle injury.

Ball won the first set but trailed 1-0 in the second when Russian Tursunov decided he was unable to continue.

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The 2009  LA Tennis Open, presented by Farmers Insurance Group will feature a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles competition. In its 83rd year, the landmark Southern California ATP tournament is the longest running annual professional sporting event in Los Angeles, and offers total player compensation in excess of $1 million.

For the second straight week a tournament hyped as part of the US Open series has failed to attract any players in the top 20. Tommy Haas at #20 is the number one seed, and on paper he should have a relatively easy time with the draw. Neither Del Potro, the defending champion, nor Andy Roddick a perenial fixture here has chosen to participate. If the tournament highlight is the ‘Milenium’ match between Safin and Sampras, then the tournament committee needs to rethink their program!

 Proceeds from the LA Tennis Open, held in conjunction with UCLA, benefit the grassroots programs of the non-profit Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA) and UCLA. The SCTA offers programs, leagues, and tournaments involving 300,000 juniors and 50,000 adults and seniors.

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Sara Foster is Tommy Haas’ girlfriend.

Sara started her entertainment career as a model, and by the time she was sixteen she was modeling for Guess and Tommy Hilfiger.

Sara’s film career started off fairly promising, with a role in The Big Bounce, the adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel. She starred alongside Owen Wilson, Charlie Sheen and Morgan Freeman, but unfortunately the movie was complete crap and did her career no favors.

Her most recent film was titled Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation

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Tommy Haas is determined to produce one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history because he knows the chance may never come around again.

Haas, a Wimbledon semi-finalist for the first time at the age of 31, is bidding to become the oldest men’s champion at the All England Club since Arthur Ashe in 1975.

His stunning quarter-final win over Novak Djokovic means on Friday Haas faces a Centre Court showdown against Swiss master Roger Federer.

Haas has 10 Wimbledon appearances behind him, stretching back to 1997, but until this year there had been one solitary fourth-round appearance and a myriad of trials and tribulations.

He has matured well though and feels he still has time to achieve something special at SW19.

“You push yourself even more to try to get to these occasions and follow your dreams as a kid,” Haas said.

“Tennis players have a short career, some shorter than others. At 33, 34 or 35 you might be done.

“Then you have a whole life left. You want to be able to look back and say, ‘Hey, I played the sport that I love as long as I could and I’ve tried my best’.

“You look back at what you have accomplished and you want to be proud of yourself.”

The obstacle standing in his way of a first grand slam final is the genius that is Federer, a man who has been in the last six finals, and who saw his five-title streak brought to an end by Rafael Nadal last July.

Federer knocked Haas out of the French Open this year in an unforgettable five-set battle, in which the German was five points from securing a straight-sets win.

Then on a fateful break point opportunity, he was stunned by a superb Federer forehand that sparked a turnaround in fortunes.

“It is in the past,” said Haas. “It’s done. Being a friend of his and knowing how much it meant to him winning the French Open, I’m happy he made that shot.”

Federer defeated hard-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic in straight sets to book a place in his 21st consecutive grand slam semi-final.

The Swiss star is chasing a record-breaking 15th grand slam but is quick to pay tribute to Haas.

Haas was the oldest man in the last eight but his recent form on grass – capturing the title in Halle and then winning five straight matches at SW19 – makes him a dangerous, if familiar adversary for Federer.

Haas – older than Rod Laver was when he won the 1969 title and just months younger than Ashe when the American triumphed in 1975 – underwent shoulder surgery to cure a long-standing problem and Federer knows just what his close friend has been through.

Federer said: “I’ve trained with him a lot, and I knew that it was just a matter of time before he started getting good results again.

“We’ve got closer recently, training then going for something to eat together afterwards. It’s great when someone shows the determination to come back after injury.

“I’m really pleased for him – he played great in Paris and I know the danger that I’ll be facing as grass and hard-court suit him better. I’d rather play Haas than Djokovic as he’s someone from my generation.

“I am happy the way I’m playing. I am prepared for a tough weekend ahead of me, but 21 semi-finals in a row is amazing and means the world to me.”

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Fourth seed Novak Djokovic moved comfortably into the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 win over unseeded Israeli Dudi Sela in a match played in a carnival atmosphere.

The 2007 semi-finalist, who has been creeping through the draw without fanfare, produced a solid display, firing off 11 aces and 30 winners.

It was perhaps no surprise. After all “Djoker”, fourth in the world, is ranked 42 places above Sela and beat the 24-year-old on their only other previous meeting. Sure enough it took just five games for the Serb to secure an early break and he raced off with the first set in 28 minutes.

He will face Germany’s Tommy Haas who had a convincing straight sets victory over Igor Andreev.

Speaking about Haas, to whom he lost in Halle earlier this month, Djokovic said: “He’s certainly a great player, and he’s playing really well lately, taking Roger to five sets in French Open, winning Halle, and here some marathon matches. He’s very aggressive. He plays serve and volley. He goes for both serves. He’s gonna put a lot of pressure on me, so I just have to be patient and wait for the chances.”

However, Djokovic added he felt his form was coming good at the right time for Wimbledon. “In case I win that match, I got Federer. So it’s not going to be easy certainly. But I think right now physically and mentally I’m in the right direction.”

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Andy Murray completed his preparations for Wimbledon with a stylish victory over James Blake in the final of the AEGON Championship.

In beating the American 7-5 6-4, the Scot became the first British player to win the Queen’s tournament since Bunny Austin in 1938, succeeding where the likes of Tim Henman – three times a finalist – had failed.

Murray looked in control throughout despite the intent of his hard-hitting opponent, who went for his shots from the opening game and came up with some big winners to keep Murray honest.

Both showed tremendous guile at times as well, with cute angles and delicate drop shots making for an entertaining match.

Indeed, when Murray broke in the third game the American swiftly hit back with a forehand winner, breaking the world number three for only the second time all week.

Tommy Haas lifted his first ATP Tour title on grass on Sunday with a three-set victory over second seed Novak Djokovic at the Gerry Weber Open.

The 31-year-old became the first German winner in Halle since David Prinosil in 2000 with a 6-3 6-7 (4/7) 6-1 triumph over his Serbian opponent.

Following on from his strong showing at the French Open, where he lost to eventual winner Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, Haas looked confident from start to finish against the world number four.

On his 10th visit to Halle, and in his first final, Haas rarely looked troubled on his serve, dropping only a handful of points on his way to the first set.

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