Roger won, conquering his own evident distress and Haas’s still-evident talent. But it required a stirring comeback that began with a bold forehand winner on that break point at 3-4, 30-40 in the third set before Federer closed Haas out, 6-7 (4-7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.
“When I made the forehand to save the break point in the third set, I really felt it could be the turning point,” Federer said. “I was really relieved.”
“You can talk and think about it all day long,” Haas said when asked about the Nadal effect. “Obviously, Djokovic was out. Nadal was out. Maybe Roger was feeling it a little bit, knowing this was a great opportunity for him to win.”
Federer said that despite appearances to the contrary, Nadal’s defeat had not influenced his play.
“He’ll bounce back strong; I’m convinced of that,” Federer said. “Sure it was a big upset, but the focus wasn’t really there, to be quite honest. Of course, my dream scenario is to beat Rafa here in the finals, but I’ve got to concentrate on my part of the draw.”
Nadal said: "(Roger) Federer is the favourite, in my opinion. That would be great. He's tried to win it for many years and he was very unfortunate to lose three finals and one semi-final (all to Nadal)."
Next up, quarterfinal match with Gael Monfils who beat Andy Roddick.
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