Basel R1 previews and picks: Isner vs. Gulbis, Federer vs. Kukushkin

Familiar foes John Isner and Ernests Gulbis will face each other again on Tuesday in Basel. Six-time champion Roger Federer is kicking off his campaign against Mikhail Kukushkin.

Ernests Gulbis vs. (6) John Isner

Isner and Gulbis will be facing each other for the sixth time in their careers and for the second time in as many weeks when they clash again in round one of the Swiss Indoors Basel on Tuesday. Gulbis took a 3-2 lead in the head-to-head series by prevailing 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on his way to the Vienna semifinals. Isner had won their previous two contests in a pair of tiebreakers; 7-6(4), 7-6(2) on the indoor hard courts of Valencia in 2013 and 7-6(4), 7-6(3) last season in Indian Wells.

Isner’s recent loss to the Latvian put a dent in his hopes of being a World Tour Finals alternate and finishing the year in the top 10, so he must win this one if he wants those goals to remain within the realm of  realism. The 14th-ranked American is 42-23 for the year, which includes a single title in Atlanta. Gulbis had been in disastrous form in between Montreal and Vienna before picking up victories last week over Isner, Lucas Miedler, and Ivo Karlovic. The 82nd-ranked Latvian generally fares well against huge servers, but his blatant inconsistency makes it hard to expect a second straight productive tournament. Count on Isner riding his serve to some much-needed revenge.

Pick: Isner in 3

[polldaddy poll=9147055]

(1) Roger Federer vs. Mikhail Kukushkin

Federer will begin his bid for a seventh Basel title when he takes the court on Tuesday. The top-seeded Swiss is 56-9 lifetime at this event and has reached the final in nine consecutive appearances. Based on his current form, there is no reason why the streak should not continue. Federer is 53-9 for his 2015 campaign with five titles and two Grand Slam runner-up finishes. He will be eager to get plenty of matches under his belt prior to Paris and London after losing his Shanghai opener to Albert Ramos-Vinolas earlier this month.

Up first for Federer is a third career meeting with Kukushkin, against whom the crowd favorite is 2-0. They previously squared off at Wimbledon in 2011 and last season in a Davis Cup quarterfinal clash, with Federer cruising in straight sets on both occasions. Kukushkin is a mediocre 19-23 at the ATP level this year but has been playing decent tennis since the start of the U.S. Open. The 64th-ranked Kazakh advanced to the third round there and is coming off a quarterfinal showing in Kuala Lumpur and a second-round finish in Moscow. Kukushkin should be at least somewhat competitive before Federer inevitably raises his level later in the tournament, but it should be straight-setter in favor of the world No. 3.

Pick: Federer in 2 losing 8-10 games

[polldaddy poll=9147048]