Back in September, German star Tommy Haas was forced to retire from his Davis Cup semifinal match against Mikhail Youzhny due to what he thought was stomach virus. The Russians went on to defeat Germany 3-2, to move on to the Davis Cup Final. A tough break for sure, but illness can happen. However, as it turns out, there may be a more sinister detail to Haas' retirement from that match. Haas' teammate, Alexander Waske, claims that a Russian manager told him that it was bitter that Tommy Haas was poisoned. Waske said it was just a virus, but the unnamed manager said, "No, they poisoned him."
Haas said, "I’m shocked that something like that appears possible. When I think of how bad I felt, I can imagine it. I’ve been feeling weak for weeks. I was the only one ever to order dessert or a Latte macchiato after dinner. If all this is true, since no one else got sick, that must have been when it happened."
The International Tennis Federation is investigating, as the last thing the sport needs right now is an allegation like this, following on the heels of rumors of match-fixing.
While Haas undobutedly has gone through a lot the past few weeks, he should be lucky that if he indeed was poisoned, he got better treatment than Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died after being poisoned by radioactive polonium 210.
ITF to investigate suspected poisoning of Haas before Davis Cup match (Boston Herald)
more
Comment!