German Advances In Munich

May 5, 2000 / 8:09 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Cheered on by a home crowd, Tommy Haas became the first German to reach the BMW Open final in five years Saturday when he ousted Sweden's top-seeded Tomas Enqvist in three hard-fought sets.

Haas, whom Germans are hoping will fill the void left by retired stars Boris Becker and Steffi Graf, squandered three match points before beating Enqvist 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-4.

He became the first German to earn a trip to the final since Michael Stich in 1995 and will face defending champion Franco Squillari of Argentina Sunday at the $375,000 event.

Squillari, who is 9-0 in his two appearances at the tournament, routed Max Mirnyi of Belarus 6-2, 6-4 in just 73 minutes in his semifinal.

Haas, a former Top 10 player who has fallen to 40th, fought off several break chances by Enqvist at 4-4 in the final set as 3,000 spectators cheered wildly.

He then broke the Swede's serve in the next game and went on to win in 1 hour, 48 minutes when Enqvist netted an easy forehand.

"I wanted that break I knew Enqvist was mad because he wasted all those chances himself," said Haas. "It would be nice to win a title again."

Haas, 22, has reached seven finals in his career, but his only title came at Memphis, Tenn., last year.

Against Enqvist, Haas struggled, fighting off a set point in the opening set and blowing a 40-0 lead in the final game of the match.

He let the Swede blast a soft second serve for a winner, double faulted and drove a forehand into the net before pulling out the game on his fourth match point.

"I don't know what happened. I can make those shots 99 out of hundred times, but I guess it's different at match point," said Haas.

Haas has been hampered by a thigh injury, but showed signs of pulling out of his slump last week when he reached the quarterfinals at Monte Carlos

He is the most popular German player since the country's stars, Becker and Graf, retired last year and left a void. Tennis has since fallen steeply in popularity, when it used to be second in Germany behind soccer.