Haas moves into quarterfinals at Legg Mason with win over Ferrero

Haas moves into quarters with win over Ferrero

WASHINGTON — Tommy Haas defeated former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 in the third round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on Thursday.

No. 4 seed Fernando Gonzalez also won his third-round match, beating American Wayne Odesnik 6-2, 6-4.

All eight remaining seeded players will be in action Thursday, including top-seeded Andy Roddick and No. 2 seeded and defending champion Juan Martin del Potro.

After having his serve broken twice en route to losing the second set, Haas jumped on top of Ferrero quickly in the third, winning the opening five games. Haas, a semifinalist at Wimbledon this year and in this event in 2008, lost only four points on his serve in the final set and had 19 aces in the match.

Down a break and set point at 4-5 in the first set, Haas rallied to win the final three games, breaking Ferrero’s serve twice. With Ferrero serving at 30-all in the final game, Haas closed the first set with a stellar running backhand down the line followed by a crosscourt forehand winner on set point.

“When you’re down two breaks to a top player like that, it’s hard to keep focused, so at some point, you just start thinking about the third set,” said Haas, who will face Gonzalez in the quarterfinals. “I played a solid third set, so I am really happy with the win.”