Basel R2 previews and picks: Federer vs. Istomin, Dimitrov vs. Pospisil

Roger Federer will resume his Basel campaign when he goes up against Denis Istomin during second-round action on Thursday. Grigor Dimitrov and Vasek Pospisil are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.

(1) Roger Federer vs. Denis Istomin

Federer and Istomin will be going head-to-head for the sixth time in their careers when they meet in round two of the Swiss Indoors Basel on Thursday. Interestingly, their most recent encounter came at the same stage of this same event last year. Federer prevailed 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to extend his perfect record against Istomin to 5-0. The world No. 2 has won four of the five matches on hard courts and Istomin did not take a set at any of the other four.

By opening with a 6-2, 6-1 blowout of Gilles Muller on Wednesday, Federer improved to 52-9 lifetime in Basel while bidding for a sixth title. The 33-year-old Swiss is also looking to maintain momentum from a recent triumph at the Shanghai Masters. Istomin kicked off his week by double-breadsticking Jerzy Janowicz on Wednesday. The 55th-ranked Uzbek is a solid but unspectacular 28-24 on the season. With Federer in far better form now than he was at this point of the 2013 campaign, he should have a more routine day at the office.

Pick: Federer in 2 losing 5-7 games

[polldaddy poll=8393161]

Vasek Pospisil vs. (5) Grigor Dimitrov

Dimitrov and Pospisil will be squaring off for the first time in their careers at the ATP main-draw level on Thursday. They have faced each other once before, in 2012 Tokyo qualifying with Dimitrov scoring a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2. Almost exactly two years later, Dimitrov is an established force near the top of the game and in World Tour Finals contention. The 11th-ranked Bulgarian is 48-16 for the season after scraping past Alexander Zverev 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in his Basel opener.

Pospisil advanced to the second round by holding off Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4 on Tuesday. The 44th-ranked Canadian is also in London contention of sorts, but for doubles. His year got off to a slow start due to a back injury but he has been in much better form since the start of the summer. This should be a good opportunity for a well-rested Pospisil, as Dimitrov has plenty of pressure on him right now and is making a quick turnaround after finishing runner-up last week in Stockholm.

Pick: Pospisil in 3

[polldaddy poll=8394502]