Had a chuckle when I saw Haas's comments.
Tommy Haas is refusing to be drawn into the hysteria surrounding world No.1 Roger Federer, claiming the Swiss grand slam collector still has much to do to be crowned the greatest player of all time.
The resurgent German has beaten Federer once this year already, and very nearly repeated the dose last night during an inspired performance in the Australian Open fourth round. Haas insists he has a lot of respect for Federer, but the 28-year-old doesn't see can't see what all the fuss is about.
"Everybody is talking about him being maybe the greatest ever. He still has to do a couple of things, I think, in my mind to be that," Haas said before taking particular aim at former world No.1 and Channel 7 commentator Jim Courier.
"If you ask Jim Courier, I mean, that guy has his tongue up his (Federer's) ass, I think.
"The whole time when you actually listen to him commentating or listen to him talk about Roger Federer (it) sometimes makes me sick almost.
"I love Jim Courier, but it's unbelievable.
"Maybe in six years I'm going to shake Jim's hand and say, 'Listen, you're right.' Maybe this guy wins 15 grand slams. Who knows?
"This guy right now is pretty much the man to beat. If somebody can do it this week, great."
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Federer's fourth-round win reversed his five-set loss to Haas as the same stage of the 2002 Australian Open.
Haas, supremely talented himself and a former world No.2, is still trying to resurrect his career after spending 18 months out of the game because of shoulder surgery.
He said he will still take heart from his performance.
"I'm going to fly home saying to myself I can be proud of myself to see that I played some great tennis and pushed him as much as I could," Haas said.
"That's all I could really do. It just shows you that he is the No.1 player in the world.
"When it comes down to it, he really plays fantastic tennis."