Tennis Prose




Aug/18

15

Robin Haase is Slaying #NEXTGEN Stars

If any ATP veteran player could be considered a #NEXTGEN Slayer, it’s the Dutch veteran Robin Haase.

The 31 year old has defeated Alexander Zverev this week in Cincinnati. Last week in Toronto he beat Denis Shapovalov (and veteran Kei Nishikori). With results like that, you know Haase is at the top of his game.

These high profile wins by Haase are not his only 2018 conquests of #NEXTGEN rising stars. Haase outsmarted Daniil Medvedev in Rome 36 64 61, thumped Hyeon Chung in Madrid 62 60 and solved Christian Ruud in Auckland 06 76 63.

On the year Haase is 23-23. He’s ranked 55 in the world, 22 spots lower than his career best ranking of 33 in 2012.

Considered more of a journeyman type player now, Haase suffered two knee surgeries in 2008 and 2009 but he persevered. Haase won his first ATP title in 2011 in Kitzbuhel on clay  (defeated Montanes), a title he successfully defended the next year (in three sets vs Kohlschreiber).

This too  has been a surprisingly very good year for Haase though there were two heartbreaks – a blown two set lead vs Goffin at Roland Garros and two singles losses to France (Mannarino and Gasquet) in Davis Cup.

But heading into the US Open, Haase appears to be playing some of the best tennis of his career. And there are probably a few ATP #NEXTGEN rising stars who would rather not see the name Robin Haase, the #NEXTGEN Slayer, in their section of the draw.

(Photo by Greg Theberge)

 

 

 

 

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59 comments

  • Hartt · August 17, 2018 at 8:37 am

    Yes, I knew about the changes to the Challenger system, and think those make a lot of sense. There are a couple other changes, including a requirement that the tourneys provide hospitality, so players won’t have to stay with local families to decrease their costs. They have a new system for Futures as well. Those tournaments won’t have ranking points, but will act as a feeder system to the Challengers.

    As far as the location for the World Cup of Tennis there is some info on that. The first one will be in either Lille or Madrid. With Pique’s involvement it sounds like it is more likely to be Madrid.

    Ellison wants the event for Indian Wells for 2 years, starting I think, in two years’ time. As an investor he is sure to get it. So it looks like the event will move around, perhaps staying in one venue for 2 years.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 17, 2018 at 8:39 am

    The Money Cup of Tennis might be a more apt name.

  • catherine · August 17, 2018 at 9:04 am

    Three times Cahill came out for Simona v Tomljanovic – Simona isn’t looking good physically and she’s going to New Haven ?

    I would guess she’ll pull out. I have a feeling things are not right with her physically, maybe mentally. In Montreal she said ‘ I hurt all over ‘. And the No 1 player needs her coach 3 times in a match against a player like Tomljanovic ? A puzzle.

  • Hartt · August 17, 2018 at 10:17 am

    The Money Cup of Tennis is a good one.

    Something that hasn’t received much attention is what this means for younger players who now will never have an opportunity to play a DC final in front of their home fans. It’s difficult for Canadian fans, just when it looked like we could field a team that had a shot a winning the DC, the final will never be in Canada.

    Felix presented the feelings of a young player very well:

    One of my biggest dream as a kid was to one day play a Davis Cup final in front of my home crowd. Sadly I’ll never have the chance to experience Davis cup like I grew up watching it???? I still hoped tradition and history would win over money, but I guess that’s where we are now..

  • catherine · August 17, 2018 at 10:37 am

    Hartt – these people don’t care about younger players. Scoop has it about right.

    One of the obvious problems with moving the site around is the arbitrariness of the decision – Ellison presumably got 2 yrs at IW because he offered the most money. This is where corruption starts. And the competition is detached from national roots, a great loss, as Felix has pointed out.

    But too late now. BTW – is the name Davis Cup going to be retained ? It shouldn’t be. What will they do with the Cup ? Retire it ? Or melt it down ?

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 17, 2018 at 11:27 am

    The Connecticut Open is a chance to see fine tennis for New Englanders without having to drive all the way to Queens which is a major expedition for even us who live less than 20 miles away, because of traffic and road construction and who knows. New Haven is a nice little city and the tennis is good, and there are always players who take it seriously even if some seem to tank to leave early. A champion is a champion and New Haven is a nice title to have – Blake Davydenko Cilic Verdasco Stakhovsky Wozniacki Kvitova Halep Venus Steffi Kuznetsova Capriati Henin have won it. Some major names. Wozniacki won it four times.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 17, 2018 at 11:32 am

    also a lot of Davis Cup captains are out of a job. I think people like Hewitt and others, who have a deep reverence for Davis Cup can unite and will unite and create a new special Davis Cup event within 3 years, that’s my prediction. Maybe McEnroe, Edberg, Becker, Laver, will also get involved and support it.

  • Duke Carnoustie · August 17, 2018 at 11:33 am

    I think the best way for the old Davis Cup to be preserved was for federations to pony up the money necessary. Feds like the USTA didn’t want to do that.

    I think if fans are upset, they should boycott the USTA. Instead we’ll probably have record crowds at the U.S. Open. That’s how the economy and capitalism works. Funny that people complain about it when some antiquated “tradition” goes but I don’t see anyone complaining that they have access to the internet or cell phones.

  • Hartt · August 17, 2018 at 11:37 am

    Catherine, at one point they were going with World Cup of Tennis (you can certainly see the Pique influence there). But Tignor, in an excellent piece on Tennis.com., said they have gone back to the Davis Cup name. That is the only place I have seen this info.

    I was actually glad they’d changed the name, because that showed how little this new event had in common with the Davis Cup. When they initially brought out these proposals I thought they should retire the actual trophy to the Tennis Hall of Fame, but of course that won’t happen.

    As we said earlier, Dwight Davis must be spinning in his grave, this is so far from his conception of what the Davis Cup was all about.

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