Two Veterans Advance Into The Second Week Of Wimbledon

Tommy Haas and Juan Carlos Ferrero both upset seeded players to advance into the second week of Wimbledon. Both players have had problems with injuries and have not consistently played on tour over the last couple of years. Now, it seems both players have put together runs that have now moved them into the round of 16.

Tommy Haas concluded his epic match with eleventh-seed Marin Cilic by upsetting the Croat 7-5 7-5 1-6 6-7(3) 10-8 after 4 hours and 28 minutes of play over two days. The last six games of their match were played today.

The German will meet Igor Andreev on Monday. Andreev leads their head-to-head 1-0, but it was a Davis Cup match on clay in 2007. Haas has played well since Roland Garros and went on a tear during the grass-court season. Their rematch should be an exciting one.

Juan Carlos Ferrero ended up getting into the other exciting match today with tenth-seed Fernando Gonzalez – even though Boris Becker kept calling him Francisco if you were watching it online. Ferrero upset the Chilean 4-6 7-5 6-4 4-6 6-4 after 3 hours and 1 minute of play.

Gonzalez, who is known for his big forehand and serve, pummeled Ferrero throughout the match. Instead of relinquishing the match to Gonzalez, Ferrero went for his shots and managed to outmaneuver his opponent on the court. Gonzalez rained down 24 aces on the Spaniard and held his serve easily, but Ferrero took care of his serve and broke when he needed to.

Ferrero will now meet play Gilles Simon in the round of 16. Surprisingly the two players have never played in ATP competition. Both players are playing well, so it should be a good one.

(Images: AFP)