Luck eludes Haas again at Wimbledon

The German had been poised to play Roger Federer in the fourth round on Monday until an abdominal muscle tear forced him to pull out.

I have to withdraw from Wimbledon due to a severe tear in my lower abdomen," Haas said on Monday.

"They did an ultrasound yesterday and saw that there was severe bleeding and haemorrhage, a tear."

Now facing up to four weeks on the sidelines, Haas listed the mishaps he has suffered in the run-up to or at the championships over the years.

"Looking back, I twisted my ankle in the warm-up one time here, couldn't play one year because my parents had a bad motorcycle accident, another year because of shoulder surgery," said Haas.

"I've had a little bit of bad luck. On the other hand, you have to just keep thinking positive, keep coming back and see if this tournament has some kind of happy ending in store for yourself."

This year the German almost missed the trip to Wimbledon as he had been out of action since retiring from the first round of the Rome Masters with a shoulder problem.

"At the beginning I really didn't think I was going to be able to play here," said Haas.

"Really didn't expect much. Next thing you know, for the first time I reach the fourth round, which was really one of my main goals here at Wimbledon, playing one of the most important matches against Roger here. That's not going to happen now.

"Feels like a rollercoaster here. It's not a happy end but at the same time it was a successful week."