Tommy Haas enjoyed a stellar tennis career, winning 15 tour-level titles, reaching a career-high ranking of world number two.
The German star turned pro in 1996 and competed on the ATP Tour for over 20 years before retiring from tennis in 2018.
Haas enjoyed particular success at the Australian Open during his career, reaching three semi-finals in Melbourne.
In a career that spanned three decades, Haas took on and took down the very best in men’s tennis.
Speaking eight years after his retirement, the 47-year-old has made his pick for the ‘greatest server of all time’.
Tommy Haas still thinks Pete Sampras is the ‘greatest server of all time’
Appearing on the Tennis Channel, Haas looked back on his tennis career and shared his thoughts on 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras.
“I remember playing Pete [Sampras] when he was at his best. It was virtually impossible to break his serve,” said Haas.
“To me, he still goes down as the greatest server of all time, first and second serve.
“I absolutely loved his service motion, his placement, his speed. It was different because he also played serve and volley, so you could never really get much of a rhythm against him.
“You’d hold your serve pretty easily throughout the match, then it’d be like 4-4, 5-5, a couple of tight points, and all of a sudden he’d keep that ball in play and hit that running forehand when he needed to.”
Haas played serving-great Sampras eight times on the ATP Tour, winning on three occasions.
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 2002 US Open – 4R | Pete Sampras | Tommy Haas | 7-5, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 |
| 2002 Canadian Open – 3R | Tommy Haas | Pete Sampras | 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 |
| 2001 Long Island – F | Tommy Haas | Pete Sampras | 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 |
| 2000 World Team Cup – RR | Tommy Haas | Pete Sampras | 7-5, 6-2 |
| 1998 Canadian Open – 3R | Pete Sampras | Tommy Haas | 7-6, 6-2 |
| 1998 Philadelphia – SF | Pete Sampras | Tommy Haas | 6-4, 6-4 |
| 1996 Basel Open – 2R | Pete Sampras | Tommy Haas | 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 |
| 1996 Indianapolis – QF | Pete Sampras | Tommy Haas | 6-3, 6-4 |
The German also remembered his rivalry with Sampras’ countryman, Andre Agassi, who had a point to prove during their first career meeting.
“I remember playing [Andre] Agassi, early on in my career in Scottsdale, maybe the first year I was on tour,” said Haas.
“I remember vividly, I think Andre with his history with Nick Bollettieri and him being his coach, then left him in a weird way, then I was with Nick at the time.
“He came out firing, he was in a good place at the time, he came out and just wanted to give me a beating.
“He sure did, anytime Andre came out and played the way he did, focused from the baseline, there wasn’t much you could do, I wasn’t nearly enough of a good mover at the time to turn the defence into offense.”
Agassi and Haas played one another ten times in total, with the former edging the head-to-head 6-4.
Tommy Haas says whether he thinks Rafael Nadal’s ‘absurd’ French Open record can be beaten
Haas also played against the ‘big three’, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer, and now gives his verdict on playing the trio.
“I never played Rafa [Nadal] on clay, which, looking back, I’m really happy about that, because I think it would’ve just been about survival, trying to win games,” he said.
“What Rafa did at Roland Garros, we’ll never ever see that again. I pretty much can guarantee you that, 14 French Open titles is just absurd, and what he’s done on clay is crazy impressive.
“Roger [Federer], when he was playing his best, I feel like he would just kind of let you know how much real estate you actually have to cover on a tennis court because you’d guess a lot, is it a slice, is it a drop shot, is it an angle, is it fast, is he serve and volleying.
“You just never knew what was coming at you, you always had to be ready to play him.
“[Novak] Djokovic, at his best, I don’t know how you were supposed to put the ball by him. It was just incredible what he could do.”
Haas played 31 total matches against the ‘big three’, enjoying varying degrees of success.
- Tommy Haas 0-5 Rafael Nadal
- Tommy Haas 3-6 Novak Djokovic
- Tommy Haas 4-13 Roger Federer
The former world number two beat Federer and Djokovic to win his two titles in Halle (Djokovic 2009, Federer 2012).
Haas went on to reminisce about several other players who competed alongside him over the years.
“Then, you also had [Juan Martin] Del Potro, you had [Stan] Wawrinka, you had [David] Nalbandian, you had [Nikolay] Davydenko,” he said.
“That’s not even going back to the guys that were big servers, with Andy Roddick, we’ve had some great battles, Marat Safin, just a beast out there.
“So lots of great memories, great matchups.”
Across his 907 ATP Tour matches, Haas proved himself against the very best tennis had to offer, retiring with a legacy few can rival.
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