Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel: Opening Day Roundup – Local Favourite Federer One Step Closer to Title
Switzerland’s largest sporting event, the Swiss Indoors Basel officially kicked off on Monday. With only weeks left till the London finals, this is one of the last two ATP World Tour 500 events of the season. The
other one is going on side by side in Valencia. Top ranking players like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych are competing in the event to add another title to their names. With names like these playing, fans can surely expect a week full of exciting
and memorable tennis action.
Swiss Stephane Bohli and Dutch Robin Haase kick off the first round matches of the event. Local Bohli is a wild card entry into the tournament whereas Haase is a qualifying round finalist. He gained acceptance into the main draw
after defeating French Paul-Henri Mathieu. Three other qualifying round finalists joining Haase in the main draw are German Daniel Brands, Czech Jan Hajek and Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen. All three professionals enjoyed straight set wins over their opponents
in the qualifying round finals.
As a qualifier into the main draw, Haase proved his mettle as he won his first round matchup against Bohli. In their first ATP event meeting ever, world number sixty-six Haase was quick to prove his superiority over the local Bohli,
who ranks fifty six places below Haase in the world rankings. In a match that lasted for a little over an hour, Haase enjoyed a straight set win over his opponent. Losing only seven points on service in the first set, Haase was quick to take the lead, enjoying
an eventual 6-4 win. His form continued into the second set, winning it 6-3. Haase is the first to oust a local from the event. Bohli was one of three locals competing in this prestigious event, the other two being Federer and Marco Chiudinelli.
Three time winner, last year’s finalist and local favourite, Federer met Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov for their first round match. Federer started strong and maintained a lasting lead over Dolgopolov. Winning the first set 6-4,
Federer continued his form into the second set as well. In the eighteenth game, Dolgopolov twisted his right ankle and had to pull out of the match. It seems luck is already on Federer’s side as a withdrawal sees him through into the next round and a step
closer to the title.
World number nineteen American John Isner met French Michael Llodra for their first ever meeting in an ATP event. In the three-set match that followed, Llodra started off strong, winning the first set 6-4. However, Isner reversed
the score in the second set, winning it 7-5. He then went on to win the final set 6-3 to move on into the second round where he will face Haase.
The side courts of St. Jakobshalle saw seeds fall as the third and fourth seeds dropped out of the tournament after losing their first round matches.
Unseeded Czechs, Lukas Dlouhy and Radek Stepanek brushed aside the Swede/Aussie duo of Simon Aspelin and Paul Hanley. Seeded fourth in the tournament, Aspelin and Hanley managed to win only one set against the Czechs in a three-set
match. The Czechs managed a 6-4 win in the first set; however, committing two double-faults in the second cost them the set. As the match entered the tie breaker, the Czechs served superbly and crossed the ten point mark with ease. The final match score was
6-4, 2-6, 10-6.
Rising stars American Eric Butorac and Curacao native Jean-Julien Rojer upset third seeds Swede Robert Lindstedt and Romanian Horia Tecau. The Swede/Romanian duo has four titles to their name this season and they were also the
doubles runners up at Wimbledon this year. However, it seems their stroke of good luck didn’t follow them to Basel. Defeating such a celebrated pair is a feather in the caps of Butorac and Rojer. The pair enjoyed a straight set win of 7-6(6), 6-4 against Lindstedt
and Tacau.
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