Tommy Haas claims Mercedes Benz Title in LA (7/04)
It came down to an all German Final as Tommy Haas(Pictured here 
hitting one of his awesome forehands) claimed his second title of the year and continued his comeback with a victory over Nicolas Kiefer in the Final at the Mercedes Benz Cup at UCLA in Los Angeles. Haas has come back from a terrible shoulder injury and mental anguish from his parent’s motorcylce accident in the last year and a half. Haas reached #2 in the World a few year back and is trying to regain that same form. The match of the tournament by far was a quarterfinal epic with Haas beating #1 seed and crowd favorite Andre Agassi in a thrilling 3 set win. Both players were at the top of their game and it was a see saw battle in which Haas broke Agassi in the 3rd set to win 6-3. Haas then went on to defeat Frenchmen Cyril Saulnier in the semis while Keifer(pictured below) defeated American Jeff Morrison in the other semifinal match in 3 sets. Morrison made a great run with some of his best playing ever including an upset of #2 seed Paradorn Srichaphan from Thailand. The semifinals featured all unseeded players after Agassi and #3 seed Mardy Fish fell in the quarterfinals. 
The tournament took a hit at the start with some key players dropping out due to injury including Lleyton Hewitt, Gustavo Kuerton, David Nalbandian, and James Blake. The annual opening night "Night at the Net Charity Event-for MusiCares foundation to provide assistance for musicians with hardship cases" featured Wilson Phillips singing some popular songs from their new CD; Comedian/Referree/MC Paul Rodriquez and players Fish and Mark Philippoussis, (Bob and Mike Bryan who ended up winning the Doubles Title in this tournament) teaming with celebrities such as Dr. Phil, Jon Lovitz, Mathew St. Patick(HBO’s 6 Feet Under), Kaley Cuoco (of 8 Simple Rules) and linesmen John Salley, Jillian Barbarie and Danny Aiello.
For more information about the Tournament or to purchase tickets for next year, please call