Tommy Haas has some good news and some bad news for his fans.

The bad news: The former World No. 2, who’s had eight operations throughout his 20-year career, underwent his ninth surgery. The good news: He’s already planning another comeback.

Haas had a torn ligament and a ligament-like structure on his right foot repaired at the Carolinas Medical Center Mercy Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday, he said. The injury, which is near the second toe of his right foot, started bothering him in October while he was practising for the Shanghai Rolex Masters, an ATP World World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

During his first-round match against Kevin Anderson, the pain only grew worse. The German could barely push off his right foot and struggled to dart side to side. “I started feeling severe pain,” Haas said by phone from his hospital bed.

About a week later, at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, he felt more of the same during a three-set loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Doctors advised him to rest, hypothesizing the pain stemmed from a slight fracture. But the aches infiltrated Haas’ daily life, inflicting him when he jogged or even walked. So Haas, who lives in the U.S., opted for surgery with Dr. Robert Anderson with OrthCarolina.

“I knew that even if I wasn’t playing professional tennis anymore, I would probably have to get (the surgery) done,” Haas said.

His recovery will be at least six months, he said, which, under ideal circumstances, places him back on court in October. But the 38 year old also said he might wait until 2017 to comeback.

The rehabilitation will be nothing new for Haas. His eight surgeries have touched most parts of his body, including his shoulders, rotator cuffs, elbows, hips, ankles and now feet. “That’s the way it is, and now I just have to let the healing process take place,” he said.

Haas, who’s won 15 ATP World Tour titles, wants to leave tennis on his terms. Next year, he’d like to create new memories with his 6-year-old daughter, Valentina, and bring her along as he plays his favorite tournaments, including the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, one final time.

“I know that there’s a chance that I might not come back from this,” Haas said. “I know it will be a very, very hard task, but there’s no doubt in my mind I’m certainly going to try.”

Even local wildlife have been clamoring for a seat at this week’s ATP Challenger Tour event in Sarasota.

During Tuesday’s first-round match between Gonzalo Lama and James Ward, a snake made its way onto the court just as Lama had reached match point. The surprise visitor prompted an unprecedented “snake delay” as a tournament volunteer rushed to shoo the snake away. The intrepid volunteer attempted to pick up the snake with his bare hands, but abandoned the brazen act when it hissed and snapped back. But luckily, the snake eventually slithered down to a bush behind the court.

Lama quickly returned to business after the delay, unleashing a final point of venomous hitting to move into the second round, 6-1, 6-1.

Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea downed Robert Lindstedt and Alexander Peya 7-5, 7-5 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Wednesday. The sixth seeds broke serve four time (4/16) and fired four aces in the 87-minute win. They will next face fourth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares.

John Peers and Henri Kontinen cruised 6-3, 6-2 against Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram, securing a spot in the second round in 51 minutes. The unseeded duo saved both break points faced and are looking for a second team title after winning their debut in Brisbane in January.

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“Today’s match was very good,” said Peers. “Henri and I have been putting in a lot of hard work so it’s nice to have it pay off. We have been close in so many matches lately and it’s not gone our way, so it’s very rewarding that this one did. It’s really nice being back on the clay and in the sunshine.”

Seventh seeds Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Nenad Zimonjic were eliminated by Brits Dominic Inglot and Andy Murray 2-6, 6-3, 10-5. Inglot/Murray move into the quarter-finals despite winning one fewer point (54-55) than their opponents.

The eighth-seeded Polish team formed by Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski was knocked out by Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi. Huey/Mirnyi won all but three second-serve points (13/16) and only faced one break point in the 65-minute encounter.

“It’s the dream of every single player to beat a World No. 1,” Jiri Vesely said after downing Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Wednesday. “For me, it’s definitely a dream come true.

“When I went on court, I was hoping to win a game or to do well. But I really had no idea that I really would be able to beat Novak today. I still can’t believe it happened.”

For the Czech left-hander, who held the World No. 1 rank as a junior, the win over Djokovic was a pleasant surprise considering his disappointing early season results.

“I’ve struggled the last few months,” noted Vesely, who did not manage to win consecutive matches in 2016 until he reached the semi-finals in Marrakech last week (l. to Coric). Adversity was never far away once Vesely arrived in Monte-Carlo. In his opening match, the 22 year old found himself on the brink of elimination before rallying against Teimuraz Gabashvili for a 7-5 deciding-set win.

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“I was actually 3-6, 3-5 down. It could have gone badly yesterday and nothing would have happened today. I’m just amazing happy about the way I fought today and the way I finished the match.”

The experience proved helpful to Vesely, No. 55 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, on Wednesday. After seeing Djokovic even the match at one set-all, he took the time to refocus before holding on for the biggest win of his career. “I had completely lost my concentration [after the second set]. Novak stopped missing and I made a lot of easy mistakes.

“I said to myself: ‘Okay, now you really have work for every single ball because otherwise it’s going to end badly.’ It definitely helped me when I broke him for 1-0.”

With the lead secured, Vesely swung freely and mustered his best shots of the match.

“[Serving at 5-4] was definitely a special game. After he won the first point, I knew I had to win the next one, or I’d be in trouble at 0-30. I played a drop shot after a long rally. It was probably the only shot I could have played.

“My serve helped me get to 30-15. Then I just told myself to go for it and to enjoy the moment.”

Novak Djokovic’s earliest loss at an ATP World Tour tournament in three years left him disappointed on Wednesday. But the Serbian also had to nod to Czech Jiri Vesely, who earned the biggest win of his career by knocking off the two-time Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters champion.

“He played very solid. He was serving very big. He was playing tactically good and aggressive,” Djokovic said. “When he was a break up in the third set, he was playing bravely. He was coming in, (hitting) drop shots, big serves. He was going for it. He deserved to have it.”

Vesely controlled his nerves again and again down the stretch in his 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win against Djokovic, who was seeking to win the year’s first three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles for the second consecutive year. The left-hander served well, winning 66 per cent of his service points. He also broke Djokovic three times and advanced despite winning an equal number of points as Djokovic – 84.

“I have to congratulate the better player today on the court and just move on from there,” Djokovic said. “It is what it is. Sometimes you don’t play your best and you lose.”

The Serb, who lives in Monte-Carlo, said he’d been especially looking forward to the tournament because he gets to sleep in his own bed and spend more time with his family during the week. “I love playing the Monte-Carlo tournament,” he said. “I practise here in these courts. I live here for the last eight, nine years… But in sport you’ve got to accept it.”

The 28 year old will now experience a rare respite from tennis. Since the beginning of the year, Djokovic said, he’s had only two days off. In the meantime, he’s compiled a 28-2 record and won four titles: the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open presented by Itau.

“It’s been a tough four or five months,” Djokovic said. “It’s going to be rest. Complete rest. I’m really looking forward to that.”

Djokovic is scheduled to play next at the Mutua Madrid Open, which starts May 1. “I’ve had an incredible start of the season. This match today will not disturb my preparation for the rest of the season and what’s coming up. I’m still confident. I’m still feeling I’m playing the best tennis of my life,” he said. “I’ll just rest, because sometimes that’s what is needed, then get back on the practice courts, adjust to this surface that is completely different from any other, and hopefully I’ll be better in the next tournament.”

Former champion Stan Wawrinka opened his Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters campaign on Wednesday with a 7-6(2), 7-5 victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber.

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Breaks were exchanged at the start of the match before Wawrinka ultimately took the first set in a tie-break. The Swiss squandered a 3-1 lead in the second set, but broke Kohlschreiber again in the 11th game before sealing victory in one hour and 37 minutes.

Wawrinka broke up the domination of the ‘Big Four’ at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments when he captured his first title at this level in Monte-Carlo two years ago, beating countryman Roger Federer in the final. Between them, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Federer and Rafael Nadal have won 50 of the past 54 Masters 1000 titles.

The 30-year-old Wawrinka set a clash with Gilles Simon as he claimed his 16th win of the season, highlighted by titles in Chennai (d. Coric) and Dubai (d. Baghdatis).

France’s Benoit Paire set a third-round clash with Andy Murray after defeating Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-3.