Tommy Haas upsets No. 1 Djokovic at Sony Open

KEY BISCAYNE, Florida - For the final few games, the fellow frustrating Novak Djokovic from across the net wore a lavender shirt, a red sweatband, black shoes with lime trim and a blue cap.

Tommy Haas won ugly, becoming the oldest man to beat a No. 1-ranked player in 30 years.

Eight days shy of his 35th birthday, tour veteran Haas defeated three-time champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the Sony Open, 6-2, 6-4. The upset Tuesday night snapped Djokovic’s 14-match winning streak at Key Biscayne, where he won the tournament the past two years.

“This is crazy,” Haas said. “Playing against someone like Novak and coming out on top at this time of my career, it’s unbelievable.”

As for Haas’ outfit: “Yeah, I’m pretty pathetic I think when it comes to color matching,” he said. “Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror before I go out and I’m like, ‘Geez, what was I thinking?’ I guess if I maybe had a clothing contract it would be different.”

The top-ranked Djokovic has lost two of his past four matches after winning 22 in a row, including the Australian Open for his sixth Grand Slam title.

“All the credit to Tommy,” Djokovic said. “He played a great match and he was the better player, no question about it.”

Haas improved to 2-14 against No. 1-ranked players. His only other win came against Andre Agassi in 1999.

The oldest player in the top 50, Haas is making his 13th appearance at Key Biscayne and advanced the tournament’s quarterfinals for the first time. His opponent Wednesday will be No. 11 Gilles Simon, who rallied past No. 7 Janko Tipsarevic, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

Sam Querrey lasted only 50 minutes in the fourth round and lost to Tomas Berdych, 6-1, 6-1.

AP