Federer upset in opening round of exhibition

ROGER Federer was upset by Tommy Haas at an Australian Open tuneup tournament yesterday, though the loss won’t count in his ATP record.

Haas, ranked No. 41, fended off three break points while serving for the match and closed a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win with an ace in the opening round of the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament.Federer said on the eve of the Kooyong event that he was 100 percent healthy and had no concerns that the ankle problem that curtailed his last season would flare up before the Australian Open, which starts Monday.But he mis-hit forehands and backhands against Haas and didn’t display the supreme form that earned him an 81-4 record and 11 titles last season.Federer hit 39 unforced errors, to 30 for Haas, and produced only two of his 15 winners on the backhand.Apart from a heavy brace on his right ankle, Federer showed no other signs of the problem.”With all the injuries in men’s tennis, I’m just happy to be standing,” Federer said.”I’m happy I arrived OK and played through the match without any pain.”Defending Australian Open champion Marat Safin and French Open winner Rafael Nadal withdrew from next week’s Open on Tuesday night, joining four-time champion Andre Agassi on the sidelines for the first Grand Slam of the year.Thomas Johannson, the 2002 Australian champion, was also questionable, with an injured right shoulder that forced him to withdraw from this week’s Sydney International.Federer, who took time off after losing to David Nalbandian in the season-ending Masters Cup at Shanghai in November, said the loss to Haas would not be a setback to his Australian Open plans.He defended his title at Doha last week to start the season, beating Haas 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals.Haas said he would have been happier to beat Federer last week, “but any time you beat the No.1 it’s a good feeling.”Haas advanced to the winners group and will next play Guillermo Coria, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Ivan Ljubicic.Federer and Ljubicic meet in the relegation group.In the other half, Andy Roddick returned from two months off and beat 19-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-2.Roddick next plays Nicolas Kiefer, who was leading Nalbandian 6-3, 3-2 when the Argentine star retired because of a stomach upset.Nalbandian said he was fit besides some stomach pain and planned to play two more matches at Kooyong this week.- Nampa-AP41, fended off three break points while serving for the match and closed a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win with an ace in the opening round of the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament.Federer said on the eve of the Kooyong event that he was 100 percent healthy and had no concerns that the ankle problem that curtailed his last season would flare up before the Australian Open, which starts Monday.But he mis-hit forehands and backhands against Haas and didn’t display the supreme form that earned him an 81-4 record and 11 titles last season.Federer hit 39 unforced errors, to 30 for Haas, and produced only two of his 15 winners on the backhand.Apart from a heavy brace on his right ankle, Federer showed no other signs of the problem.”With all the injuries in men’s tennis, I’m just happy to be standing,” Federer said.”I’m happy I arrived OK and played through the match without any pain.”Defending Australian Open champion Marat Safin and French Open winner Rafael Nadal withdrew from next week’s Open on Tuesday night, joining four-time champion Andre Agassi on the sidelines for the first Grand Slam of the year.Thomas Johannson, the 2002 Australian champion, was also questionable, with an injured right shoulder that forced him to withdraw from this week’s Sydney International.Federer, who took time off after losing to David Nalbandian in the season-ending Masters Cup at Shanghai in November, said the loss to Haas would not be a setback to his Australian Open plans.He defended his title at Doha last week to start the season, beating Haas 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals.Haas said he would have been happier to beat Federer last week, “but any time you beat the No.1 it’s a good feeling.”Haas advanced to the winners group and will next play Guillermo Coria, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Ivan Ljubicic.Federer and Ljubicic meet in the relegation group.In the other half, Andy Roddick returned from two months off and beat 19-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-2.Roddick next plays Nicolas Kiefer, who was leading Nalbandian 6-3, 3-2 when the Argentine star retired because of a stomach upset.Nalbandian said he was fit besides some stomach pain and planned to play two more matches at Kooyong this week.- Nampa-AP