Tommy Haas thinks Andy Murray fakes it

If any tennis player is an expert on battling through pain, it's the oft-injured Tommy Haas. And Herr Hass has a theory about how Andy Murray deals with it.

Speaking to a German television station, Haas suggested Murray, who made a Lazarus-like recovery from a back injury in a second-round French Open win over Janko Tipsarevic, is a bit of a faker.

"It's difficult when you play against someone on the court like he is not well or injured. I find no one does this better than Murray. Sometimes he looks like he can barely move, then comes the trainer and he moves like a cat. I believe everyone knows this. People talk about it in the locker room. Maybe he would like to take some pressure off himself. He tells himself, 'Maybe I have a niggle or a problem, I'm not feeling too well but I'm going to try it anyway.' But he is such a talented player that he does not need to."

I love how Haas made it sound like he was saying something as factual and noncontroversial as "Andy Murray is Scottish." He's right though; Murray milks it more than a farmer. He's as big a ham as Babe. If flopping were a viable strategy in tennis, he'd be doing it like there was "HEAT" written on his shirt. (That wouldn't be their only similarity either.) There's just too much civility at the top of men's tennis for anyone to talk about it.

Murray was upset in the first round of the AEGON Championships at Queen's Club on Tuesday. Nicholas Mahut defeated the top-seeded Murray, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4). After the loss, Murray was asked how the defeat would affect his preparation for Wimbledon.

"I've just got no chance to be ready for Wimbledon now," he said sarcastically, according to Beyond the Baseline. "It's going to be impossible, I think."