Dominic Thiem: "On a good day, Tommy Haas could beat any player on the ATP circuit"

They say form is temporary but class is permanent. And retired tennis player Tommy Haas gave an excellent demonstration of that in the ongoing Berlin exhibition event, as he took on current World No. 3 Dominic Thiem and went toe-to-toe with him for a considerable time.

Haas' effort didn't go unnoticed. Later in a press conference Thiem showered rich praise on the German, and also revealed how much he regretted not having played him on tour.

Tommy Haas lost to Dominic Thiem in a very close fought encounter

Dominic Thiem is aged 26 whereas his opponent Tommy Haas was 42 years of age. But the huge gap didn't stop Haas from putting on a terrific display, going down fighting with a scoreline of 7-6 6-3.

Dominic Thiem will play a third final in 8 days tomorrow in Berlin. He beats Tommy Haas 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach the final of the 2nd mini-event in Germany. Gets Sinner for the title tomorrow.[getty] pic.twitter.com/8zeex6ws8o

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 18, 2020

Dominic Thiem regrets never playing Haas competitively

Tommy Haas is a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist and also an Olympic silver medalist (Sydney). He retired six years after Dominic Thiem turned pro, but the two never got the chance to play each other at any tournament.

Thiem expressed this regret after beating Haas at Berlin by saying:

“Being able to face a tennis player like Tommy Haas is incredible. Unfortunately for me, we couldn’t play on the circuit so I was very happy to face him in this exhibition.”

Thiem: "Haas in giornata potrebbe battere qualsiasi giocatore del circuito ATP" https://t.co/C8DNwSdjO0 pic.twitter.com/c6L2rPUC3G

— Ubitennis (@Ubitennis) July 19, 2020

Dominic Thiem was indeed unlucky not to face Haas as they came close to facing each other on a few occasions - most notably at the 2014 Australian Open, 2014 French Open and 2017 Australian Open. Thiem and Haas were drawn in the same section at those tournaments, and were drawn to face each other as early as in the third round itself.

But fate decided otherwise, and Dominic Thiem got to play the German for the first time in the ongoing Berlin exhibition event.

Dominic Thiem was given a tough time by Haas in the first set

Tommy Haas forced me to change my tactics: Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem was visibly impressed by the level and quality that Tommy Haas produced in their match. The German made Thiem sweat for over an hour despite not playing competitively in nearly three years.

Dominic Thiem praised Haas’ fitness levels and also highlighted his ball-striking ability:

“He showed he was still in excellent shape and there were even times when he forced me to change my tactics. I had the feeling that, on a good day, Tommy could beat any player on the ATP circuit.”

Dominic Thiem will take on Jannik Sinner in the final of the Bett1Aces Tennis Tournament

Dominic Thiem is not wrong with that statement as Haas did indeed have a good head-to-head record against the likes of Safin, Agassi, Roddick and Sampras. He played a total of 38 matches against them and won 19, including three against Pete Sampras.

Haas also defeated Roger Federer four times in his career, including a win as recent as in 2017 at Halle.