Poison: Capable of ruining a perfectly good game of tennis

November 8th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

I have experienced the delights of food poisoning only once in my life, thanks to a Mexican restuarant in Davenport, IA, which should really think twice before serving another cheeseburger. Cheeseburgers from Mexican places in Iowa: Bad.

But not nearly as bad as whatever caused tennis sensation — OK, tennis player — Tommy Haas’ apparent poisoning at the hands of a nefarious Russian. Seriously:

Tommy Haas’ apparent garden-variety stomach virus that sidelined him on the decisive day of the Davis Cup semifinal in Moscow in September against Russia took on sinister implications when allegations surfaced Wednesday that he was poisoned.

Haas, who still feels unwell six weeks after the incident, is scheduled to travel to New York today for additional rounds of medical testing, according to his representatives. He has been in Rio de Janeiro for commercial commitments.

Waske detailed to German media outlets a recent conversation he had with a Russian player manager.

“Someone came to me and said, ‘It was a tight match, it’s a shame Tommy was poisoned,’ ” Waske told the German news agency SID.

Waske said he told the manager, who was not named, that Haas, 29, merely had a virus. The manager replied: ” ‘Believe me, Alex, I know Moscow. There are people who can make these kinds of things happen.’”

Yes, yes, it was a fantastic match, full of mirth and vigor and lots of delicious grunting. What all good tennis matches should be, really. Gosh, it’s just too bad one of the players was poisoned by a Russian spy. That can really hamper the level of play, eh?

{HT: CSTB}