Roger Federer will be back in action in Basel on Thursday, when he takes the court against Philipp Kohlschreiber. Fellow Americans and doubles partners John Isner and Jack Sock are also aiming for a spot in the quarterfinals.
(1) Roger Federer vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber
Federer will take a 57-9 lifetime record at the Swiss Indoors Basel with him into second-round action on Thursday. The six-time champion improved to that mark by making 6-1, 6-2 mincemeat out of Mikhail Kukushkin in Tuesday’s opener. Federer is 54-9 for the season and looking poised to recover in fine fashion from a surprising loss of his Shanghai opening match to Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Up next for the No. 1 seed is Kohlschreiber in what will be an 11th chapter in one of the more lopsided head-to-head matchups on the ATP Tour. All 10 of the previous encounters between the two veterans have gone Federer’s way, including three on hard courts. Their only indoor tilt came at the 2013 Paris Masters, where the Swiss prevailed 6-3, 6-4. Kohlschreiber earned another shot at his nemesis by holding off Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Tuesday. The 32nd-ranked German is a decent 32-22 for his 2015 campaign and a solid 7-2 since losing to Federer in straight sets at the U.S. Open. This is certainly not the time and place in which Kohlschreiber is going to suddenly turn the tide.
Pick: Federer in 2 losing 5-7 games
[polldaddy poll=9149060]
Jack Sock vs. (6) John Isner
Isner and Sock, who played doubles together in Basel (lost to Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in a super-tiebreaker on Wednesday), will be facing each other in singles for the sixth time in their careers and for the first time this season. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in favor of Isner, who is 2-0 overall and 4-0 in total sets against his fellow American on hard courts (they have never played indoors). Sock scored a 6-4, 7-6(4) upset on the grass of Newport last summer before losing 7-5, 6-4 one week later in the Atlanta semifinals.
Ranked 29th in the world, Sock has just about clinched 2016 Australian Open seeding thanks to a runner-up performance last week in Stockholm and a first-round Basel defeat of countryman Denis Kudla. Isner punched his ticked to last 16 by avenging a recent loss to Ernests Gulbis with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory on Tuesday. The world No. 14 is 43-23 for his 2015 campaign and still has an outside chance of finishing the year in the top 10 and as an alternate at the World Tour Finals. A motivated and more rested Isner should serve his doubles partner out of the tournament.
Pick: Isner in 2
[polldaddy poll=9150052]
I am not surprised about Kohls taking a set off Fed. He used to give Delpo fits. When he’s on his game, he can be tough to beat. He just hasn’t really looked that good lately.
He lacks self belief. The talent is there.
Too true. I wouldn’t call him wasted talent necessarily like Verdasco for instance but he does possess top 10 talent imo that backhand is a beauty and his serve can really be killer at times.
as can his ROS
It just shows you that Fed can have a tough match, too, even in Basel. He won’t always coast along.