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Haas: Anything can happen if I'm having a good day

Raonic lost a set to Gimeno and says his serve was a bit off. But what should worry him more is poor return and lack of intensity he's always on the hunt for. Haas' serve-and-volley gave Lajovic a hard time and saw him win in the end. His shoulder was doing well and Haas could be a threat for the Canadian, if he's fully fit

Despite being a Top 10 player and defending semifinals here Raonic still struggles on grass court. The reason for it is his footwork, which he cannot change overnight. Every other segment of his game is perfect for these conditions - top serve, both first and second, and a very aggressive approach. He can win his service games even in slow conditions, while he always fires the ball hard on return, not being ashamed of major misses. It's a very offense-oriented game without any compromises. 

The Canadian can be happy with his serving record, which says that he fired 25 aces and won 82% of first service points but still lost a set, which was a slip against a player like Gimeno. Only three converted break points prove that Raonic struggled on return. The Spaniard is not the kind of a player who should be able to win his service games that easily on grass against such an aggressive opponent. Both players were winning their service games easily throughout the fourth set but Raonic opened the tie-break by winning two of Gimeno's service points, which settled the match.

- I don't think I served as well as the numbers suggest. I lacked intesity at times, which is why I got into some tricky situations that I normally do not allow on my serve - Raonic said after the match, focusing on his serve more than the return, which was a bigger problem. When asked about expectations, he replied:

- Ask me that in two weeks.

Haas opened his Wimbledon campaign as a mystery. His quality, experience, and game on grass were never questionable but his physical fitness definitely was. He just recently got back after a new break and yet another surgery to play a few matches in which he tried to go easy on that shoulder. However, in order to advance through at Wimbledon, one must win three sets and holding back just doesn't work here. Haas almost experienced it first-hand. 

The German won the opening two sets convincingly but Lajovic fought back in the third one. Things could have gotten more complicated if the Serbian player didn't have a nasty fall early in the 4th set, which threw his off a bit. He admitted to grass not being his surface after the match, that he didn't know what to do against Haas' serve-and-volley.

- Given everything I've been through in the last year, the win at Wimbledon means so much more. I am now to meet Raonic, one of the best servers on Tour. It will be tough but anything can happen if I have a good day.

Raonic played Haas once, in the final of San Jose (fast conditions) and won convincingly. The veteran allowed Lajovic 8 break-point opportunities and won less than 40% of second serve points. Not very impressive but at least Haas doesn't have to fear longer rallies here. Both opponents will look for as shortest points as possible, each in his own way. 

This is a low margin. Haas was out of tennis for a year and he wasn't very good after the return, but I watched a few of his matches and followed his statements. He is an experienced player, he went through a lot of rehabilitation and he always repeats that there's no need to hurry. He played with some reserve in Stuttgart and Halle. He has been in full swing for a month now and he didn't save his shoulder against Lajovic. Even then he wasn't the real Haas, but he played smart grass-court tennis. He used the angles, came to the net, used the service-volley and changes of pace. He really does have the game style for these conditions. Raonic played the semi-final last year and he is probably the best server on the Tour, but I still claim he has footwork problems on grass-court. Actually, I don't have to claim anything. He says it often himself. His advantage is that he plays with maximum aggressiveness and that creates respect with his opponents, makes them feel like they shouldn't make a mistake. He was powerless against Ward for a set and a half. Gasquet gave him the third set with a double fault, and Simon outsmarted him. All of these are matches from Queens. Gimeno took a set from him here, and he could have taken two. The Spaniard lacks footwork, slice and exits to the net. He lacks the finesse and idea for this surface, so he complicated the match. Haas can at least take a set here. He can do much more than that. My choice are more games because in normal conditions, they would have 4-5 games higher margin. The market still doesn't trust the German, but if he'll gives his best anywhere, then it's here in Wimbledon.