Watery eyes, pigeons for Haas

MELBOURNE – Tommy Haas might have won his Australian Open quarter-final yesterday but he had to deal with much more than just Nikolay Davedynko.

The cool breeze swirling around Rod Laver Arena made the German’s eyes water so badly it looked like he was crying and pigeons flying around the court kept putting him off. It affected his concentration and he started talking to himself, so loudly that his Russian opponent thought he had “gone crazy”.”I think Haas going crazy,” said Davydenko after he narrowly lost in five sets 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5.”He speak by himself in the match.He talk, just he talk, he can’t play in Australia good any more, and something like this.”Haas said his eyes were driving him to distraction.”Yeah, the cold breeze.Sometimes, I don’t know, like my eyes don’t do well with that.They just got really watery, like I’m almost crying, a lot of water coming out of my eyes,” he said.”I thought I was playing really well in the first set and a half, dictating play the way I wanted to play.Then just lost my head just a teeny bit.He got into a groove.”That’s then that (talking to himself) starts happening.My eyes got watery.The shade started coming.So it was a few things that kept going into my head.”There were pigeons flying around in the stadium.I was focusing on many other things as I sometimes can do.”Yeah, he was just getting better and better, and I just lost a little bit of my confidence and my concentration.”The fourth set, the beginning was really important for me.Once I started playing well and got the break early, I felt like I was coming back to the way I played in the first set.Then I knew it was going to be a match.”Overcoming the odds Haas finished off the Russian to make his third Australian Open semi-final.Nampa-AFPIt affected his concentration and he started talking to himself, so loudly that his Russian opponent thought he had “gone crazy”.”I think Haas going crazy,” said Davydenko after he narrowly lost in five sets 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5.”He speak by himself in the match.He talk, just he talk, he can’t play in Australia good any more, and something like this.”Haas said his eyes were driving him to distraction.”Yeah, the cold breeze.Sometimes, I don’t know, like my eyes don’t do well with that.They just got really watery, like I’m almost crying, a lot of water coming out of my eyes,” he said.”I thought I was playing really well in the first set and a half, dictating play the way I wanted to play.Then just lost my head just a teeny bit.He got into a groove.”That’s then that (talking to himself) starts happening.My eyes got watery.The shade started coming.So it was a few things that kept going into my head.”There were pigeons flying around in the stadium.I was focusing on many other things as I sometimes can do.”Yeah, he was just getting better and better, and I just lost a little bit of my confidence and my concentration.”The fourth set, the beginning was really important for me.Once I started playing well and got the break early, I felt like I was coming back to the way I played in the first set.Then I knew it was going to be a match.”Overcoming the odds Haas finished off the Russian to make his third Australian Open semi-final.Nampa-AFP