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The M1 Thompson, or the ‘Tommy Gun’ as it is more popularly known, occupies a special place in the history of wars and weapon systems. It was one of the most extensively used weapons in the early part of the 20th century. From “Prohibition Era” gangsters and policemen alike in the United States to soldiers during World War II, the ‘Tommy’ was a most successful weapon of choice. Hollywood has given it much spotlight in movies such as ‘The Godfather’, ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘The Inglourious Basterds’. The best part about the ‘Tommy Gun’ is that it never gets old.>Tennis has two of its own – 35 year old Tommy Haas and 31 year old Tommy Robredo. The two veterans have not only had superb seasons, but have had to come through their fair share of adversity in getting back to this level.
For Tommy Haas, it’s a return to where he believes he truly belongs, amongst the best players in the men’s game. Few would disagree, for this is a man who was a prodigious talent as a youngster when he first burst through onto the circuit in 1998. He was touted to be the successor to the Pete Sampras-Andre Agassi generation and, along with Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin, was widely expected to dominate the men’s game in the coming decade. At the time, he boasted an impressive record against notable former and future no. 1 ranked players: 3–0 against Andy Roddick, 5–5 against Pete Sampras, 2–1 against Roger Federer, 2–1 against Marat Safin, and 2–0 against Jim Courier.
Haas, at the age of 22, had won the Silver medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Post that success, the circuit saw a meteoric rise in the German’s game as he reached the No.2 ranking in the world in 2001. But, that’s when tragedy would befall the young Haas – late in 2001, a severe accident nearly claimed the lives of his parents, while leaving his father in a coma. The incident derailed his career in a big way as he spent most of the next year and a half taking care of his family and paying less attention to his tennis. Just when he was about to get back to the tour proper, after having overseen his parents’ recovery, he was struck down by a serious shoulder injury that required operating, and forced him to miss the entire 2003 season.
Frequent injuries and fitness issues hampered Haas’ prospects for the next 5 seasons and though he made a comeback into the top 10 in 2008, it was short-lived because of a serious hip injury, on which he had an operation. Having veered way off course to 896 in the rankings in June 2011, Haas encountered his second wind so to say, a recovery that has brought him back to No.11 in the world in about exactly 2 years. And at the age of 35, into the twilight of his career, he is enjoying one of his finest seasons ever; he made the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time in his career last week, with a sprightliness belying his age. His backhand carries the same zing that it used to in the earlier days and is still one of the best one-handers in the business.
On 27 January 2010, Tommy Haas became a full-fledged United States citizen and now permanently resides in Brandenton, Florida with his wife and daughter. But there is no doubt as to the two things that give him the most joy in his life as his Twitter bio aptly reveals – “Father and Still Tennis player :-)” – the key word being ‘still’.
For Tommy Robredo, it has been a journey back from the brink, similar to that of compatriot and 8-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal. Though not on the same scale, Robredo strained his left abductor muscle and suffered a leg injury midway through the 2011 season. Those twin blows put him on the sidelines for the rest of the season as well as the whole of 2012, mainly playing only Challenger events.
Robredo was one of the most consistent players of his generation before the injury. He reached as far up as No.5 in 2006 and always did well at the Australian and French Opens. For the first time, he ventured out of the top 100 in the world after 9 successive seasons, due to the injury. His comeback from injury has been as good as that of Nadal’s, with a title win at Casablanca and that phenomenal run at Roland Garros. In three consecutive matches, Robredo was 2-sets-to-love down and yet, defying belief, he fought back to pull through those matches in 5 sets, in the process becoming the first man since Henri Cochet at Wimbledon in 1927 to win three on the bounce from such a deficit.
The fat lady had been warming up to sing in each of those games, but little did she know that the man from Girona was singing an altogether different tune. His remarkable endurance and superhuman exploits rightly earned him the title of ‘Iron-man’ at the tournament. He also supplanted the local and vocal Frenchman Gael Monfils as the “feel good story” of the Slam.
Enduring pain yet continuing to dream
“I was tired and in pain. So to come back, it’s a lovely dream. I was down in all of the last three sets, but I just pushed hard. I was just dreaming of winning the third set. Then I dreamt of winning the fourth set and then the last and I did it”, said an exhausted yet delighted Robredo after his 4th round win over Nicolas Almagro.
”There’s never a guarantee, but at the same time if you work hard, usually it pays off,” he said reflecting on his comeback from injury to climb the rankings. “But again, it’s easy sometimes to throw in the towel and say, ‘I’m done. I have achieved a lot of things, I don’t really have to worry so much financially and I can live a good life.’ But at the same time, maybe there was something in me still that said, ‘You know what? I can maybe still do something.’ I’m really happy I made that choice.”
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We are all glad that both he and Robredo made that choice to return to the courts. Their French Open campaigns may have come to a halt in the quarterfinals, but their spirit and love for the game continues to flow in abundance. These ‘Tommy Guns’, through all the countless battles, never seem to get old. With every round fired, they continue to leave their mark on the biggest stages, entertaining and inspiring us in the same breath, much like the ‘ol M1 Thompson.
