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Post-Olympic tennis tonight on American Hard courts in DC - US Open less than 4 weeks away!
A new contender vs the seasoned veteran.
Hot vs cold, Erratic vs calm, Young vs Old.
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| Tommy Haas - ATP Veteran Photo by Mikhail Bezruchko. COPYRIGHT Tennis-Bargains.com |
Tommy Haas
Tommy has already beaten Federer on grass in Germany just weeks ago. Although he did not get on the German Olympic team, this ATP 500 title would be a great sense of redemption and achievement.He is playing his best tennis in recent history. Entering the "Agassi 2nd career" phase now at 34, Tommy looks very hungry for another title.
Well conditioned for the heat in his semi-finals match against Fish, last night he came back out to do a bit of scouting against his younger opponent. Let's see how mentally tough he will be against the flash and dazzle of Dolg.
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| Dolgopolov serving up 1st ATP 500 Final Photo by Mikhail Bezruchko. COPYRIGHT Tennis-Bargains.com |
Alexandr "The Dog" Dolgopolov
At 24, he will be the young pup in this fight, but brings some amazing shot-making ability to the table. His serve can a double-edged sword. Either excellent and unreadable, or backfire and give him some trouble even when 40-0 up in his service game.
It will be Alex's first ever ATP 500 Final - but he has handled the pressure very well this week...up until today. Let's see if nerves hold or if this hot/humid DC afternoon will change anything with his game plan. Handling his emotions and playing aggressively on the return will again be keys to this match for him.
Interesting note: Apparently Alex uses the same Luxilon Ace 18 strings as me.
My prediction
Both are great competitors. I've seen Haas here for years and would be nice him to finally break through. He looks more hungry of the two. Dolg has the higher ranking and building more confidence with each win. If he brings his "A" game and step up to the next gear against Haas, it will be a great match!It will either be Haas in 2 sets, or Dolgopolov in 3 - with at least one tie-break set. Should be a great ATP final in Washington, DC tonight.
From London back to DC - ATP Men's Final
Welcome back from London to our nation's capital DC at the Citi Open ATP 500 Men's Final.
Watch it on ESPN2 @ 4PM EST live!
