Roger Federer overcomes Jarkko Nieminen to reach the quarters – Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel 2011
World number four, Roger Federer of Switzerland, had a hiccup before taking down the 66th ranked Finn opponent, Jarkko Nieminen, in the second round of the Davidoff Swiss Open Basel on Wednesday evening.
Four times winner of the Swiss Indoors Basel, Federer took one hour and thirty five minutes of play to wrap up victory in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, to make a berth in the quarter-finals of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 event.
Federer finally slipped his record of never losing a single set against Nieminen in 12 matches but still kept his clean record against the Finn competitor. It was 51st victory for the Swiss maestro in the current season, with 12 defeats already to his name. Federer took absolute control of the opening set, winding it in merely 24 minutes but Nieminen made a valiant come back in the following set, breaking the Swiss serve twice to pocket the second set. The third seed launched his onslaught in the final set and gave no chance to his opponent to get settled in the matchup, racing away to victory in style.
“He was obviously finding his range better, playing a bit better and getting better rhythm as the match went on since he’s a baseliner,” said the Swiss maestro. “It was due to my ups and downs that he found a chance in the second set, but then I found my range again on the serve in the third set and was basically in control. It was still a good match, I thought, for me to come through and I had some very good moments. All in all I’m pretty pleased.”
The third seed fired 10 aces and reeled off 37 out of 42 first serve points en route to victory, whereas his Finn opponent lagged behind with 31 points to finish on the losing side. Federer converted five of his break points and suffered just two break point conversions from Nieminen in the second set. Apart from the sloppy second set, Federer remained dominant throughout the contest and eased through to the quarter-final stages of the tournament.
Federer will either take on the seventh seeded American, Andy Roddick, or the unseeded Czech competitor, Radek Stepanek, in the round of eight to battle for a berth in the semis of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel. Roddick and Stepanek will go one-on-one against each other on Thursday evening and the winner will take on Federer in the quarter-finals.
Tags: