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  • Del Potro, Haas to battle for spot in Legg Mason final

    8/16/08 7:14 AM | Ricky Dimon
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    The top half of the Legg Mason Classic draw is in shambles, but the bottom half held form for a blokbuster semifinal showdown. It will be Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Tommy Haas on Saturday afternoon.

    Del Potro, Haas to battle for spot in Legg Mason final

    The top half of the Legg Mason Classic draw is in shambles, but the bottom half held form for a blokbuster semifinal showdown. It will be Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Tommy Haas on Saturday afternoon.
    Jesse Levine couldn't do it. Dudi Sela couldn't do it. Not even last year's runner-up, 6'9'' American John Isner, could do it. Now it's up to Tommy Haas to stop on-fire Juan Martin Del Potro, who has won three straight tournaments and 17 consecutive matches.

    Haas and Del Potro will do battle for the first time in their careers in the Washington, D.C. semifinals. The winner will play either Viktor Troicki or Igor Kunitsyn in Sunday's title match.

    Title matches have been Del Potro's personal playground recently. The 6'6'' Argentine won two clay-court tournaments immediately following Wimbledon and then came over for the U.S. Open Series and promptly upset Andy Roddick in the Los Angeles final last week. Still just 19 years old, Del Potro is up to a career-high 19th in the world. The No. 2 seed crushed Levine in round one here, took care of Dudi Sela in three after a second-set hiccup, and then dismantled Isner 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Friday.

    Haas, one of Isner's upset victims at the 2007 Legg Mason Classic, has already improved upon his quarterfinal showing last season. The No. 4 seed ousted Rik De Voest in round one, rolled over Nicolas Mahut in the second round, and then blasted Alejandro Falla 7-5, 6-1 in the quarterfinals after falling behind 4-1 after five games. The German has enjoyed a solid summer, but he failed to capitalize on a strong showing in Cincinnati (lost to Rafael Nadal in the third round) by bowing out of Los Angeles in shocking fashion to Donald Young in his opening match of the tourament.

    Haas cannot afford to get off to another bad start, because Del Potro is not one to led a lead slip away; especially not right now. Del Potro is the clear favorite to win this match and the title (will he ever lose another match ever again?), but Haas has upset potential if he serves well.

    “He seems to be the man to beat right now,” Haas said of Del Potro. “He is a big guy but moves well for a guy of his size. I will have to mix it up if I want to have a shot at him.”

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