Haehnel secures France victory
Haehnel secures France victory 
By Tim Clarke
Former Australian Captain December 31, 2006
JEROME Haehnel upset Mardy Fish of the US to secure an upset 2-1 victory for France against the No.4-seeded US team at the Hopman Cup in Perth overnight.
Haehnel, whose only previous claim to fame in his career was his first-round defeat of Andre Agassi in the 2004 French Open, was given little hope against Fish, who sits 166 places higher on the world rankings.
But he emulated
France teammate Tatiana Golovin by overcoming the US challenge, and turned the tournament seedings on their head for the second time in the day.
Following Australia’s surprise victory over top seed Russia, Golovin was able to provide some surety in her tie against Ashley Harkleroad.
A tortuous 111-minute disposal of the US youngster provided Haehnel with the chance to secure a second day one boilover, and he made a great start taking the first set 7-5.
However, it appeared the ranking gap would tell, with the American winning the second 6-4.
Haehnel hung on throughout a lengthy decider before prevailing in the tiebreak - after Fish added to his amazing tally of 92 unforced errors at the crucial time.
The Frenchman admitted he was shocked to win, after interrupting a holiday to compete.
“It is a big win, I really didn’t expect to come, and I really didn’t expect to win, so it is very cool for me,” Haehnel said.
“I was going on holiday … it was a tough decision (to play) but for my country it is very important that I come.”
Haehnel’s unexpected trip to Australia, prompted by the withdrawal of Germany last week, marked only the third time he has made the long-haul trip to spread his tennis wings.
The 26-year-old from Mulhouse, near the German border, owes his modest 211th ranking to sticking close to home and playing events reachable by train, as he is afraid of flying.
But he may now reconsider his future travel plans.
The first set was a tight affair, until Haehnel found a quality running forehand down the line that left Fish floundering at 6-5 down, and ultimately earned the Frenchman the first set.
The second set took a similar route, and Haehnel had the chance to mirror the first with a break point in the ninth game, until Fish found his serve in the nick of time.
That provided the turnaround for Fish to claim the second 6-4.
A fluctuating third ended all square, but Fish, as he had all night, erred long or into the net at crucial times, handing Haehnel four set points and then the match when he netted.
AAP