Battle of the Ponytails

Poor ponytailed Tommy Haas can't get a break. After spraining his ankle in a freak accident at Wimbledon this year, his comeback at the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles has been cut short by the strong serving and game of Belgian and fellow ponytailer Xavier Malisse.

Haas has always had the strokes (he did reach the #2 world ranking in 2002), but apart from his diminished serving ability due to shoulder surgery, what seems to be missing in his game is the mental link. I can't imagine how his coach David "Red" Ayme feels; part of their routine consists of Red sitting courtside and allowing Haas to vent all his frustrations on him.

Malisse has also been prone to meltdown; earlier this year in Miami Malisse was defaulted in a match versus David Ferrer "for serious verbal abuse of a line umpire." Malisse claimed that the lineswoman misunderstood him when he was saying "whole ball." He was still however fined $6000 and suspended for four weeks following that tournament.

posted by Noelle De Guzman @ 11:51 PM