This Week: The 25-year-old German appears in his second ATP tournament of the season after making his comeback from shoulder surgery in 2002 and '03. He takes on fellow German Alexander Popp in the first round of the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis, where he won the title in 1999.

2003-04 In Review: Haas missed the entire 2003 season after undergoing rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder in New York on December 20, 2002 and further arthroscopic surgery on the same shoulder on July 18, 2003. He has a protected ranking of No. 11 (for nine months or eight tournaments). He made his comeback in 2004 in San Jose and lost to Vincent Spadea in the first round.

Miscellaneous: The German has won five ATP titles from nine finals, claiming his first in Memphis in 1999. His biggest title came in Stuttgart in 2001 when he captured his first Tennis Masters Series shield before finishing in the Top 10 at No. 8.

He Says: "I'm pleased to be back and I'm enjoying it so far after being away from the sport for so long - 15 months is a long time. I'm taking it slowly at the moment, trying to see if the game I had is still there. I was ready to come back earlier last year but the doctor said I still had some scar tissue, so I had to have another operation. So I was out for another six, seven months, but I watched some tennis and now I'm really happy to be back."

On his form: "It's just a matter of time now putting everything together, playing the shot at the right time, the footwork needs to get much better, staying through the ball, all that smooth feeling. And the only way I'm going to get that is with time on the tour. Hopefully week by week, I can get improvement…It's just rhythm. When you don't do something for a over a year, close to 13 months, and then all the sudden you try to do it, its going to take time for it to come back. You need to find the rhythm, you need to find the lines again and that's why I'm out here to play, that's the only way to get it back."

On his goals: "The doctor told me the shoulder is fine. It doesn't feel great yet but time will tell. I see this time for me as a second career. The first six or seven years was my first career, now this will be my second. There are still lots of challenges left for me in my career."

On coming back to Memphis: "Obviously to win a title anywhere in the world means you have to have confidence. These players are playing well and I'm going to have to take some chances to get back to the top of my game."