IT wasn't just Andy Murray who was busy announcing himself to the Wimbledon crowd ten years ago.
While the Scot was sweeping George Bastl and Radek Stepanek aside in the men's singles, Robin Haase was casting all before him in the boys' event, where he reached the final before going down to Jeremy Chardy of France. "All I can remember is that in the finals the guy served the same speed as Roddick against Federer in the men's final," he says.
While the Scot and the Dutchmen aren't particularly close, meetings between them have played a significant role in each of their lives. While Haase does at least have one victory against Murray on his resume, dating back to Rotterdam in 2008, Murray has led a charmed life on at least two other occasions. They both came at the US Open, first when an in-form Haase surrendered a two sets to love lead back in 2011, then when a visibly-cramping Murray lost a third set 6-1 and trailed 4-1 in the fourth but still managed to come through.
Speaking at SW19 yesterday, Haase still seemed ever so slightly mystified by what transpired that day. "I was 4-1 up in the fourth set, and then there were two long rallies with some smashes," he said. "One I made mistake and one I didn't hit and he hit a passing shot. The momentum of the game changed. If I could have won that fourth set, you never know. I mean, it's only one more set, and it's tough to beat a guy like Andy in the best of five anyway. But if you're getting close, of course you can win.
"Sometimes it's like that," he added. "A body reacts always differently. We are professionals, we try to prepare as best as we can, and probably he did, but sometimes the body just reacts differently. Maybe because of less sleep, maybe because of he didn't drink too much, or he didn't eat well. Or maybe he did everything right and it still happened."
Now he must play him on a grass court. And not just any grass court. The entire crowd on No 1 Court will be baying in his opponent's favour, but an undaunted Haase will try to find a solution. He did at least manage to reach a grass court semi-final in Den Bosch only a few weeks back, and snap a four match losing run in Grand Slams when he made it past Alejandro Falla in the first round.
"I will try to find a weakness," said Haase, a right hander, who actually plays left handed. "I have proven that I can beat him, once. Maybe it's a long time ago, but still, I beat him. I also played a few close matches.
"Of course there will be maybe only a handful of fans for me, but I'm here to play my game and hopefully entertain the crowd, as well," he added. "It's always a nice crowd to play in front of here, so even if they will cheer for him, they will definitely applaud for me as well.
"The ball bounces higher on grass. I don't know if that's an advantage or not. Of course he [Murray] feels pressure, but, I mean, how many times has he played here? I mean, he won it. He goes far every single time. Andy is one of the best players in the world. To play him anywhere is difficult, but in his home tournament, on grass, it's going to be even more difficult."
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