Haas rolls back years to reach first Wimbledon semis

Tommy Haas rolled back the years as the former world number two defeated fourth seed Novak Djokovic 7-5, 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon for the first time on Wednesday. At 31, Haas is the oldest man left in the draw, but the 24th seed showed he can still cut it at the highest level with a superb display of grass court tennis.

The German will face five-time champion Roger Federer in the last four as he bids to reach a Grand Slam final for the first time in his 13-year career. If he can somehow shock Federer, he would be one win away from becoming the oldest Wimbledon champion since Arthur Ashe in 1975. It is seven years since Haas was rated as the second best player in the world but a succession of injuries, including a recurring shoulder problem, have forced his ranking outside the top 30 since those heady days.

Things began to look up for Haas at the French Open last month when the Florida-based star pushed Federer all the way in a dramatic five-set match. After beating Djokovic in the final of the grass court tournament in Halle last month, Haas had spent over 10 hours on court at Wimbledon, much of it in sweltering heat, to get to this stage for the first time.

After 10 games of impeccable serving from both players, Haas earned the first break. The German was attacking the net with increasing success and he took the first set with a perfect smash. The second set followed a similar pattern. Djokovic struggled to make an impact on Haas's serve, then dropped his own serve to go 5-6 down.

Haas finally faltered as he served for the set and Djokovic broke back before earning three set points in the tie-break. Even that couldn't halt Haas. He saved all three break points and went for the kill, taking the set with some sublime serve and volley play.

Djokovic refused to go quietly and the Serb broke for a 4-3 lead before serving out the third set. Yet as the temperature rose on Court One, Djokovic began to wilt and Haas broke in the fourth game to move 3-1 ahead. That was one blow too many for Djokovic as Haas closed out a famous victory.