Haas is Still Upset About High German Olympic Requirements

Written by: Staff on 28th June 2012

Haas is Still Upset About High German Olympic Requirements |

Former No. 2 Tommy Haas says he’s hurt by a snub from German Olympic selectors which has resulted in him being cut out of any chance for a wild card entry into the London Games. With national authorities applying hugely strict selection rules, the 34-year-old who won the Halle grass title over Roger Federer this month was not nominated and was therefore not even in contention for a wild card.

The only German man who will play the event is Philipp Kohlschreiber, while the women will field Angelique Kerber, Sabine Lisicki, Julia Goerges and the untested Andrea Petkovic who is coming back from a serious ankle injury and has not played since April.

“I guess it’s a pill you have to swallow for not being nominated by the German Sport Committee,” said the disappointed Haas, “If they had nominated me, the chances of getting a wildcard would have been quite high. It’s frustrating, but you have to accept the fact that they didn’t do it, and they have rules they follow and the criteria, and I didn’t match those. So there you go.”

Haas won the silver medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney, calling it “one of the best highlights I had in my career.

“At that time I was still young, and it was my first Olympics, I had a great time, staying at the Village, meeting new, different athletes, seeing how they train and everything. You realize (later) what it actually means to have a medal – it means a lot to me,” said the former ATP number two.