Tennis: Greg Rusedski beaten by Tommy Haas in Barcelona
Thursday, 27 April 2000 19:41Greg Rusedski slipped to defeat in straight sets in the third round of the ATP Tour event in Barcelona today against Germany's Tommy Haas. The British number two, hoping to improve on his position of 45th in the Champions Race standings, pushed the first set to a tie-break but Haas ended up winning the match 7-6 (8-6) 6-3. It was Haas' first victory against the British number two, who came into the match with a 3-0 career record against the 22-year-old German. But Haas has established himself as a powerful all-court player capable of producing real power and consistency from the baseline during his rise to the higher echelons of the game.
Rusedski beat Haas twice in Germany last year and had only lost one set in their previous meetings. But despite his impressive victory over Moroccan Karim Alami yesterday, the seventh-seeded Briton was unable to match Florida-based Haas from the back of the court and faded as the match progressed.
