Roger Federer can probably win the Swiss Indoors Basel in his sleep. After all, he has lifted the trophy eight times and has reached the final on an amazing 13 occasions–including in a dominant 11 straight appearances.
And Federer basically was sleeping in his first-round win over Filip Krajinovic, whom he managed to hold off 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 while requiring more than two hours of work. The world No. 3 served at a dreadful 47 percent in that match and double-faulted six times.
Federer, however, raised his level to a significant extent against Jan-Lennard Struff during second-round action on Thursday. The 37-year-old held the rest of his service games after trailing by an early break in the first set and got the job done 6-3, 7-5 in just one hour and seven minutes.
“I was ready for Struff to come out and swing,” Federer commented. “I didn’t know how aggressive he was going to play or how much serve and volley he was going to do. But, unfortunately, I didn’t have the best first two service games. But he also played well, I must say. He connected well; he came out with a plan and it worked for him. In the second set it was close throughout, but I think I was able to clean up my game a little bit.
“I’m happy that I improved after a rocky, slow start today, to play well after that. I think the crowd was really into it. They were excited that I came back from being a break down (in the opening set). I’m excited for the next round. I’m actually quite happy how I’m playing right now.”
Thursday Basel highlights:
In Vienna, meanwhile, the race for what will likely be the last spot in the Nitto ATP Finals heated up with Kei Nishikori’s 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Karen Khachanov followed by John Isner’s 6-4, 6-4 setback against Gael Monfils. Nishikori trails Isner by just 65 points for No. 9 in the race and will take over that position if he beats Dominic Thiem in the quarters.
The ninth spot is likely all-important because Juan Martin Del Potro is expected to withdraw from London due to a knee issue. Nishikori is now 10-3 since the U.S. Open with a recent runner-up finish in Tokyo.
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