Hometown hero Federer broke serve in the eighth game of the first set, capitalising on a first serve percentage of 47 per cent from Roddick, to clinch the opener. He then raced through the second set with two breaks to clinch victory in 64 minutes. He improved to a 41-7 event record.
"We’ve played on so many occasions that sometimes you can’t play your best, and that’s what happened to Andy today," said Federer, who improved to a 21-2 career lead over Roddick. "He didn’t have a very good serving day and then once I get a chance to get into all his service games, it’s always going to be difficult for him to find a way."
Basel is the only non-Grand Slam event where Federer has won more than 40 matches. He won three successive titles from 2006-2008 and lifted the trophy for a fourth time last year with victory over Novak Djokovic; he has also finished runner-up on three occasions.
"It’s one of the highlights of the year for me to be playing here in Basel," said Federer. "I grew up here and spent over 20 years in this city. I know my way round, it feels very special and I see so many familiar faces when I look around the stadium. My dream was to maybe play once in qualifying or on centre court, back in the day, now here I am playing and getting the best player of all time award here in Basel."
"This is the first time I’ve played Stan here in Switzerland," remarked Federer. "We’ve faced off together 10 times and playing back in Switzerland is particularly special because I come from this town and Stan’s not too far away either. I think it’s a special occasion for Swiss tennis and the Swiss fans. He played incredibly well today, so I think this is going to be the test of the tournament for me so far."
Date: 05.11.2011, Source: ATP
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